Only at DragonTech
by ThatFlyingEagle
Summary: Astrid and her family are happy, but living on the edge. She does her best to keep them afloat, but every day is a struggle. A chance encounter opens doors that she never knew were there, and it all revolves around DragonTech. Modern AU, AstridxHiccup, Rated M for language and adult situations. No lemons in the books for this one.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers! This will mark my second foray into the world of HTTYD! My first fic, and first fic ever, Depth of Betrayal was alright, then I wrote a mess known as Warm Days and felt like I was forcing it out with no rhyme or reason. That project came to an end after a laptop melt down and I felt like doing something else.**

 **So, I wrote this in my downtime while working on other stuff. Most certainly AU, with cameos from plenty of other stuff.**

 **I don't want to have this AN be too long, so enjoy!**

 **XXX**

Astrid put down the plates of food on the table, smiling widely and wishing the family a good meal. Despite the fact that the smile was an entirely faked, way too over the top affair, it would win her a decent enough tip. As she traipsed back to the kitchen, she let the tray she'd been carrying slide back onto the stack. It was so damn late, and she had no idea why such a random, seemingly happy family were at dinner so late.

"Everything okay out there, Astrid?" The cook yelled hoarsely, his throat worked far too hard yelling at lazy line cooks and slow waiters all day.

"Yeah. Nothing wrong with the order." She said as she passed. The cook grunted in approval and continue mulling about back there cleaning things up. That family was the last in the restaurant. They had actually locked the doors already, so it wasn't like anyone else was coming in. She leaned against the wall with a sigh, feeling the burning in her feet only slightly alleviate.

She reached into her apron pocket, pulling out the tips for the evening. Well, the tips for the entire day, actually, since she had worked from seven this morning until now, eleven. Normally, nobody would work such a hellish shift, but she needed to, and her boss was a great guy. He understood her situation and did everything he could to help. By everything, that meant giving her as many hours as she wanted and letting her keep all her tips, instead of splitting them with the other waitresses.

The best part? They couldn't even bitch about it. When one of them did a few weeks ago, he just asked her when last she worked a sixteen hour shift. Shut her mouth immediately, and she didn't complain anymore. In fact, she and Astrid were pretty close friends now. Friends in a waitress way, which meant only at work and never anywhere else.

Two hundred and seven dollars. A good night, and one that would at least keep the lights on for another month. She pocketed the money and checked her phone. Five minutes since she dropped off the food. Time to go check and make sure everyone's drinks are topped up. She stopped at the kitchen door, trying to work up her energy. She threw on the fake smile and went out.

* * *

That ass hole wore a designer leather jacket and had a Rolex on his wrist the size of a fucking sundial, and he only tipped fifty two cents on a credit card. What a dick. Astrid rolled her eyes angrily, letting out a pissed off groan. Rich guys were all such ass holes. So much for the fake smile. She quickly gathered the dishes and brought them to the back, then cleaned the table. In the building now it was her, another waiter, the cook, the dish cleaner and their boss.

After doing a cursory run through the dining room, she dubbed the place clean enough, checked in and was let go for the evening. She got into her car, closing her eyes as the soreness of her body came up like a storm, announcing its presence as soon as she was comfortable. It was an old friend; even though she was only twenty two, being sore from work had been a thing her whole life.

Astrid Hofferson was not born to a wealthy family. She wasn't even born to a moderately middle class family. Neither her mother nor her father had ever gone past high school, and both of them worked low wage jobs. Despite that, they were as happy as could be. Yeah, they didn't always have money for nice things, but she, her little brother and their parents were happy as long as they had each other.

It was her, then her little brother who was eight years younger than her, Luke, her father and her mother, Ingrid. They were literally the happiest family on the block. Even on Christmas, when there was only one present each under the tree, they were happy. Dad would grill out every Sunday, no matter what was happening. It was a family thing. Their family, the Hoffersons, the happiest poor people you'd ever meet. Astrid was doing well at a local tech college, and she worked hard enough to pay her own tuition. Things were great.

It used to be that way. Then, two years ago, there was the accident. The accident that changed _everything_. She still remembered every single detail. She remembered opening the door with a smile, expecting dad, Luke and hamburgers. She was greeted by a police officer. He told them what happened. She remembered crying in her mother's arms while they went to the hospital. She remembered saying that she couldn't go in to identify her father's body; he was dead.

She remembered when Luke was finally out of surgery. She remembered the smiles on her and her mother's faces, knowing that he was at least alive…if not all of him. The gap where his right foot and upper leg should have been was stunning at first, but it did nothing to diminish their happiness. They would work through it. They had always worked through it.

He was twelve then. He took dads death hard, as did they all, but they took it with straight faces. The three of them stayed strong. Always had. They helped each other deal with it and they moved on. Hoffersons had never been ones to dwell on the past. They stayed strong, even though the hospital bill sent their lives to shambles.

It was almost a hundred thousand dollars. Without insurance, they had to fork it up, and it was nearly impossible. Astrid, who was the only one who had decent credit, immediately took action. She dropped out of school and set to paying the bill. For the past two years, she had fought to get the debt down, working her sixteen hour shifts. Her mother couldn't work, because Luke needed someone around the house who could help him.

Thankfully, the neighborhood came together and raised enough money to buy the family a second car, thus allowing Astrid to have one to get to and from work while her mother had one to help Luke get to school and back. It was a blessing from some higher being that the neighborhood was so good to them. They had done all they could to repay the deed, but with the bill still looming high in the seventy thousands, it was hard.

Their debt was so bad that, when they applied to have a prosthetic made for him, the hospital refused to fit Luke for one. Thus, he was stuck in a wheelchair, which was why mom needed to be with him all the time. His friends helped him out at school, but that was only until the end of the day. He took it like any Hofferson would. He didn't let it get him down, not even in the slightest. He still had his smile, which doctors said was great, seeing as many people who lose limbs also lose their will along with their limbs.

They were happy with each other, and they were alive. That's all that mattered now. She started the car and left the mostly empty lot to the hot summer night. She drove down the still busy streets of Rock Hill, continuing on until she reached old town and the street that had been her home all her life. She locked the car twice and went inside the house, making sure to lock up tight.

She loved her neighborhood, but break ins were common around here, and tight locks helped stop them. That, and pistols that she knew everyone had. She had two, one upstairs and one down. She and her mother knew where they were and how to load them. Even though they were always loaded. She put her keys down silently on the counter, spotting the lightly dozing form of her mother on the couch. It was late enough that Luke would be asleep already.

She went over and checked on her mom, making sure she was sleeping in a way that wouldn't leave her sore in the morning. She went to the desk in the corner, where all the bills were stacked up. She found the electric bill envelope and slid ninety bucks in, sealing it after. She put it on the counter, underneath her keys. She would bring it to the mail box in the morning.

That left her with about a hundred dollars to add to her savings. The next part of the hospital bill wasn't due just yet, so she could toss this into her ever shifting bank account. Groceries were well enough stocked, and there was plenty of gas in both cars. Maybe she could even afford to buy herself a new pair of jeans to wear for work. The ones she had on were fraying terribly.

She climbed the stairs quietly and pushed open Luke's door. He was sleeping soundly, his wheelchair sitting easily within reach should he need to go to the bathroom during the night. She brushed his ear length, brown hair out of his face and dropped a light kiss to his forehead.

"Love you…" She whispered to the darkness. She left and went to her own room, slumping down to her pillow. She didn't have to work tomorrow until two. It was like a gift from someone to allow her to sleep in.

* * *

"Astrid…" She shifted in her sleep, grumbling about being woken up. An insistent poke in her side pulled her from her sleep completely, and she rolled over. Luke was sitting in his wheelchair, a melancholy look on his face. She rose on her elbows, smiling warmly at him.

"Good morning, bud. How you doing?" She yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She glanced at her clock. Nine thirty.

"Well…not so great…" He trailed off, and immediately Astrid knew what was wrong. Luke knew that she was working so hard to pay off _his_ hospital bill, and that she was working so hard to keep him and mom afloat. She knew that when he got like this, it was when he needed something that money needed to spent on. She had told him a million times that she would get whatever he needed, but he still hated asking for it.

"What is it, Luke?" She prodded, swinging her legs out of bed. He sighed and gestured down to his lap. Sitting in it was his only pair of jeans.

"My jeans ripped yesterday while I was getting out of the car…I need a new pair…I can deal with shor-"

Astrid scoffed at him, flicking his forehead. "How many times have I told you that you don't need to feel bad about asking for stuff? It's fine. I need a new pair too. I'll head over to the mall today, okay?" His previously upset look lightened, and his wide smile returned.

"Thanks, sis. How was work last night? A lot of tips?" She stood up, stretching her long legs, smirking at him.

"Two hundred beans," She laughed. He held up a hand, and she gave him a high five. He spun his chair expertly, allowing her to get to her dresser, where her hair ties sat.

"Sweet…so…I don't have school today. Professional development or something…so…can I go to the mall with you?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, her hands on her hips.

"Why do you even ask? Duh," She shooed him away so she could get dressed and all that, and the boy gleefully trucked away. He was confined to that wheelchair, but he definitely made the best out of it. She quickly took a shower and braided her hair into a single thick strand that hung down to the middle of her back.

She got to the stairs and glanced at the single thing the hospital had done for them, if only because they were obligated to. Their stairs were outfitted with a motorized chair and rail, so that Luke could go up and down. He had refined to an art really, being able to fold his own chair and hold it on his lap while he went down, and then flipping it open again easily and hoisting himself into it.

"Good morning, mom." She said, throwing a quick hug around her mother. The woman trapped her in and left a sloppy morning kiss on her hair.

"Good night last night, if the sealed bill is anything to go by," Ingrid said, ruffling Astrids hair. She tried vainly to swat her mom's arm away, smiling the whole while.

"Yeah. I'm taking Luke to the mall today. We need new jeans. Do you need anything?"

Her mother smiled warmly at her, and at Luke who was sitting in his chair at the table, eating cereal. "Only for my babies to be safe and sound." Astrid rolled her eyes comically, but she understood her mother's words. She rarely asked for anything for herself, and normally said exactly what she had. Due to her not working, her own clothes rarely tore up like hers and Luke's, so she didn't often need replacements. When she did, she said so, but it wasn't often.

Still, Astrid would bring her something back. Something that she could afford on their tight budget. Sometimes it was something from the knick-knack store, like a funny magnet or something. Other times, she had been able to afford a shirt or a pair of pants. It really depended on what sales she could find.

"Eat up, Luke. We'll head out as soon as you're ready." She called, sitting down on the couch.

The mall was busy today. She wasn't sure why, seeing as it was a Thursday, but it was what it was. It was easy enough to find jeans for both her and Luke, and she even scored a nice sale on them too. Both pairs only cost her about thirty five bucks, and she even got a sweet deal on a clearance blouse that her mom would love.

She was marching through the mall, Luke wheeling next to her, the two of them window shopping. It was something they had gotten used to doing, even before the accident. Window shopping was fun, and they often got to make little jokes about the things they saw. Astrid often stared longingly at the beautiful dresses and gowns that they passed. She could never afford one, but she liked to dream that one day she would be able to.

"Hey sis, do you have extra money? Can we go eat at the food court?" He asked. She would have said no, in the interest of conserving their cash, but she did actually have a good bit extra. She smiled and nodded, and Luke motored ahead. He was always careful to not run into people, a skill that she was always amazed to see.

They made it to the court and looked at all the options. That was, until her eyes settled on a place in the corner. Delicious. Japanese food. She poked Luke, knowing that he loved it as much as she did.

"Look. Teriyaki chicken," She prodded. He wordlessly sent his chair that way, cheering about soy sauce or something or other. She followed along, laughing at his antics. They got into the line and ordered quickly, enjoying the wonderful smell of the grill. The food was expensive; well, expensive for them, but it would be delicious.

The chef called out their order number and they grabbed the food. Luke, rolled ahead, but she remembered that they had forgotten napkins. "Luke, hang on, we need napki-" As she turned to get them, she bumped into someone, sending her and all the food crashing to the floor.

"Fuck…" She let the word slip without thinking about it. Twenty three bucks of food…gone. She scowled at the ground, disappointment screaming through her. That was when she processed a hand being held out to her.

She looked up at the man who she had run into and stopped for a second. He was really cute. "I'm so sorry, miss! I wasn't watching where I was walking!" He said urgently. She took his hand and he pulled her up. In that moment, she got a good look at him.

Taller than her, about a head taller, with a mess of auburn hair atop a soft face. His sharp jawline was tinted brown with the subtle shadow of stubble, complete with a tiny scar just below the right corner of his lip. He wore a simple long sleeve shirt, brown with a black bar across the chest. His long legs were clothed in dark, stone washed jeans, which covered the tops of black and brown trainers.

Luke rolled up, staring at the food on the ground. She knew that he was disappointed and that he wanted it, but she also knew that he understood the monetary loss as well. He wouldn't ask for more. As it turns out, he didn't have to.

"Are you ok?" She looked back into the gentle green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine…I'm sor-"

"Not at all!" He interrupted. "It was my fault. Please, get whatever you want. I'll pay for it. I was heading here anyway." She blinking in surprise at his offer. She knew that she would like it…and so would Luke. She shot him a quick glance, and he had a hopeful look in his eyes. He would go with whatever she said, but he really wanted that food, and it wasn't like they could afford to get more.

"Sure. That's nice of you. Thanks." They got into line along with him and ordered again, the same thing. The chef said he saw what happened and threw on a double meat order for both of them, no charge. The man who had knocked her over thanked the chef and set in their orders.

When he was done and they were waiting, he turned to Astrid. "Again, I'm really sorry about that," He said, and for once she heard genuine apology in somebodies voice, instead of the pretend shit that people usually pulled out.

They got their food, and immediately, Luke piped up, always eager to make friends. "Hey, why don't you eat with us?" He offered. Astrid hadn't wanted to eat with this stranger, but he was actually proving to be kind of nice, so she went along with it.

"Would you?" She added. The man smiled and nodded thankfully.

"Of course. Lead the way."

They found a table nearby, and to her surprise, the man kicked away one of the chairs, making room for Luke. Odd. People usually didn't do stuff like that. They sat down while Luke rolled in. Once they were set, he spoke. "Sorry, again…I usually don't run into people."

Her brother answered before her. "It's cool," No, it really wasn't, but at least he had offered to buy their food for them when theirs was lost. That was nice. "I'm Luke Hofferson. This is my sister, Astrid."

"Harry Haddock," He said, shaking Luke's hand and holding his out to her. She took it, and he shook it firmly. "It's nice to meet you. Although, it could have been less messy." She allowed a small smile to cross her face while Luke laughed loudly.

"So, Harry, what do you do for a living?" Luke asked, the signature question that dad taught them. You always ask about someone else's life before talking about your own. Making New Friends 101.

Harry swallowed the food in his mouth before answering. "I'm in robotics, on the side of physical therapy and enhancement." He answered simply. Astrid widened her eyes in surprise and she started to like this Harry even more. In the brief time that she spent taking college classes, physical therapy was her focus. She had a resume out in open job listings, but nobody really wanted a drop out.

"How about you two?"

Astrid beat Luke to the punch. "I'm a waitress right now, but I used to be in college." She answered. Harry cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What classes did you take?"

Astrid smiled. "Well, I took a lot of class for physical therapy in college. It was my focus," Harry grinned widely, holding up an open hand to her. She greedily accepted this sudden show of friendship and slapped his hand. It wasn't often that they found someone who was so openly friendly.

"Have you got a job?" He asked. Luke, who had been smiling and laughing, suddenly went quiet. Astrid put a hand on his leg, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"Well…I have a resume out in an online database, but I never finished college," She admitted with absolutely no embarrassment. She had a good reason for dropping out. "Most employers aren't interested in a drop out, so nobody has contacted me." She answered sadly. Harry apparently grasped that the mood had changed if his frown was anything to go by. She wasn't really surprised by his next question though. Probably one of the more common questions of her life.

"Why did you drop out?" She shook her head gently, not wanting to answer. Harry was nice and all that, but he had no business knowing why she had done the things she'd done. She would have left it at that, but Luke chose otherwise.

"I had an accident," He said somberly. "Lost my right foot."

"Did you get a prosthetic?" Harry asked, and Astrid noted that he was kind enough to not look under the table to see if Luke was really missing a foot. The boy shook his head.

"The hospital bills…we can't afford much. Even toda-"

"That's enough, Luke." Astrid said sharply. She knew how talking about it hurt him, because he still felt that it was all his fault, even though they had gone over how the accident was never his fault. The man whose was at fault was still rotting in jail. She shut the lid on her food, nudging Luke to do the same.

"Thanks for the food, Harry. It was nice to meet you." She said politely. Luke said the same, and the two of them walked away. She glanced back and found that Harry had not moved. He was staring down at the table. She and Luke quietly made their way out of the mall and back home. By the time they got there, everything was forgotten and they were two happy siblings again.

 **XXX**

 **So, to continue from above, this will follow a strict update schedule. Every Thursday morning, and I will hold to that as best I can.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprise surprise readers! Seeing as several people requested (and demanded) that I update earlier, I decided to do so! Not for no reason, of course. You guys made the first chapter the best opening few days for any of my stories ever, and I thank you for it!  
**

 **HOWEVER!**

 **This will be the only time I do this. We will update Thursday again, and then the week long update time will begin. No exceptions. Unless someone has a box of cookies for me. Then I'll think about it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **AN: Thank you to all you guests who reviewed! Make and account so I can talk to you!**

 **XXX**

Astrid came into work with a grimace on her face. It had been a rough two weeks for her. After meeting Harry at the mall two and a half weeks back, she and Luke had spent most of the rest of her day before work with their mom. The three of them did what they could together, but it hadn't lasted before she had to go again to work. Truthfully, that was the last time she had been able to relax at all. Most of last week, and this entire week had been high on the stress and low on the tips, and she was eating into her meager savings again to help them stay alive.

Each day had presented its own bullshit that she had to deal with. She had to deal with a customer who got far too drunk, which made her handsy with Astrid. After dealing with having her ass being grabbed ten too many times, she had to go and ask her manager to get rid of the woman. Which resulted in nothing, because when Johann, the chill boss who understood her position, wasn't there, it was Cruella, and she was just a huge bitch, like her name suggests. Eventually, the woman got so drunk that she passed out on the counter, and then it became Astrid's problem to make sure she got home and didn't die.

Then she had to deal with a table of youngsters who ordered about ten entrees, then left as soon as their food got to the table, both refusing to eat it and stiffing her. Again, Cruella saw to it that she was firmly blamed and reprimanded because she had to have done something to make them leave. So she had to deal with that shit, as well as another customer who went to that bitchy bitch and told her that Astrid was being a steel clad bitch. Which was a lie.

On top of all that, people had been tipping like they were pinching every penny they had. A few weeks ago, she made two hundred backs in a single day. This week, she was struggling to make two hundred in _four_ days. It was putting a strain on her mind, because she just _knew_ that the next part of the medical bill was due soon and she needed as much money as she could get.

She was literally at her breaking point this week, and she needed nothing more than a day off. It was tomorrow. An easy, nine hour shift, and then she had a whole twenty four hours of _nothing_ before she had to come into work again. She set to work, wearing her real smile for the first three hours, then slowly progressing to the fake one as she got more and more pissed off with people and the utter stupidity.

By the time that she had to switch broccoli with baked beans, _after_ the food was brought to the table, for the fiftieth time, she was about to lose it. Why can ass hole customers not make these damn decisions before fucking ordering! Her fellow waiters and waitresses could sense her growing stress, and they stayed wisely out of her way.

Today was no different. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell customers to kiss her ass and eat their fucking broccoli. That's what the fucking entrée comes with, no she will not switch it out with something else once it's at the god damn table. All of this shit going on, and it wasn't even fucking dinner time yet. She was still four hours from the end of her shift when the restaurant manager called her into his office. Which was always a bad sign. He _never_ called someone back there while they were on the clock.

"Hey Johann. You wanted to see me?" She asked as she walked in. Johann, a slender, bearded man of forty two years, had been her favorite manager since she started working here. He was a nice guy, understanding of her situation and of the strain of being a waitress. There were times when she thought he was being unfair, but on the majority, he had done right by her.

"Yeah. Go home." He said. It wasn't mean. It wasn't snappy. It was a calm comment, said without malice or anger. "I'll give you the last hours of pay, but go home."

"I don't need to go home! I'm fine!" She snapped, crossing her arms angrily and looking away at the wall. How dare he think that she couldn't handle these fucking assholes known as the general public? She was stronger than they were, had dealt with more in life. She refused to accept being weak to the point where she had to be sent home from work. "I'm relaxed…"

"Are you kidding? Astrid, you're about to explode. Anyone back here can tell how high strung you are tonight. _Go home._ " He dug into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He tossed two one hundred dollar bills onto his desk, gesturing for her to take them.

"Take that. I would rather send you home than have you do something that I'm going to have to fire you for. Take a few days off, relax, and let me know when you want to come back. And don't call me tomorrow saying you'll be ready to go the day after. At least three days off, Hofferson." She took the money, momentarily feeling her stress leak off.

"Thanks Johann," She came around the desk and hugged him. The man returned the gesture, patting her on the shoulder.

"You're a good girl, Astrid. Don't run yourself into the dirt so much. Now get out of here. The others can cover you just fine." She thanked him again and all but ran to get away from the building.

She got in the car and just sat there, her hands on the steering wheel and all the feelings of frustration, anger, disappointment and pain congealed together in the pit of her stomach, and the tears began to well up in her eyes. She was trying the best she could to make things work. Trying the best she could to mine away at the mountain that had been raised against her family. She tried _so_ hard, and almost nobody could remotely understand what she went through every day.

She sat in her car and cried, refusing to go home and allow Luke or her mother to see her weakness. She had to be strong for them, to keep their hope going, even when hope seemed to be the last thing that they could believe in. For almost thirty minutes she sat in her car and cried, pouring her frustration out of herself. Finally, with her face puffed out and red, she put the car into drive and left the restaurant.

It was early afternoon, and the sun was still up. Luke would be home from school already, so she could go home and spend the day with him and mom. That would make her feel better.

* * *

"Hey guys…" She called into the house, closing the door with a long sigh. She got called answers, and she made her way into the kitchen. Luke was rolled up to the table, a plate of food in front of him while mom was standing at the stove.

"Astrid dear, why are you home so early?" Mom asked in concern. Astrid let go of a long sigh as she went around the table, ruffling her brother's hair. He protested only lightly, but with a small smile.

"Johann noticed I was really stressed at work. Forced me to take the next few days off," Her mom opened her mouth to ask the question that Astrid knew was coming, so she quickly took the money from her pocket and flashed it. "He's paying me for the hours that I'll lose."

It wasn't that mom was being critical about her losing hours, it was just concern. Astrid would never think that her mom would be pushy and angry about her working, and it had never been like that. They were all in this together. If she and her mom had switched places, she would have asked about the money as well.

Upon seeing the money, Ingrid relaxed. She smiled softly and came over, hugging Astrid tightly. "I'm sorry honey…you know we appreciate you working so hard for us. What happened? I can see that you've cried..." She added the last bit softly, so Luke wouldn't hear it. Astrid appreciated all of that, but she shook her head slightly in their hug. "I understand, baby. Just...thank you."

Astrid hummed her assent, returning the hug weakly. Once she was free, she went and sat on the couch, letting out a relieved breath once her shoes were off tired feet. She always frowned at her feet, wondering why they hadn't gotten used to being used for hours and hours at a time. After two years of the daily grind, she would've thought that her feet would never get sore.

"What do you want to eat, sweetie?" Mom asked from the kitchen. Astrid waved her hand carelessly in the air.

"Anything."

"We still have some chicken patties left…want a sandwich?" Astrid thought about chicken patties. They came frozen in big bags, but she absolutely loved them. Helped that they were reasonably cheap too.

"Two, please. With cheese." Her mom laughed as she went about making the food. Normally, Astrid wouldn't ask for such luxury as having her chicken sandwiches with cheese, but she was tired today and she could run to the store and get more cheese later.

They had food, but most of it was cheap, processed food such as microwave meals and off brand stuff. Occasionally, she splurged and got them some chicken breast or something, but normally it was too much a burden on the budget to get stuff like that. Too expensive for too little food.

While she waited, Astrid went to the bill table, hey eyes landing somberly on the stack that still stood high. She had to pay water still, as well as car insurance. Then there was the taxes on the house and other stupid stuff from the state. Then…the dreaded bill. On the top of the stack, stamped with the CMC Charlotte logo, was the next piece of the medical bill.

She knew it wasn't due until the nineteenth. It was the seventh. She had time, so she didn't even want to open it and stare at how many digits still made up their debt. She sat down and started going through the pile of new mail that had come for her. Seeing as her mom didn't work, and didn't have credit, almost all the mail that came to the house was addressed to Astrid.

Credit card offers always came, which was stupid. She was up to her eyeballs in debt, so why would they be offering her more cards? She tossed them away without opening them, rolling her eyes. She had a letter from the City of Rock Hill that carried bad news. Due to a new spending plan to upgrade schools, their electric and water costs were going to go up. Hoo-fucking-ray.

Mom placed a plate next to her with two steaming sandwiches on it. She pressed a light kiss to Astrid's head, and she hummed in content. "Thanks mom." She said for the food. Her mother went back to the kitchen, and Astrid bit into the first sandwich, not caring that she singed her tongue on the piping hot processed chicken.

At the bottom of the pile, which she had now reached, Astrid had a letter that didn't look like her normal mail. It was a small, thin envelope, with her mailing address on one side in the corner. On the opposite side, her name was written. By hand, in long, sweeping calligraphy. She knew that this was no normal letter, because while her address was printed on electronically, her name had been written on. With a damn fancy pen, too.

She put down her food and curiously tore open the top of the letter. The card inside was similar to its envelope. Plain, textured white stationary with nothing on it apart from, once again, her name, and an interesting red logo. It looked like…a dragons head? She opened it, picking up her sandwich while she read the card.

She ended up choking on her food when the contents reached her eyes. Both mom and Luke immediately came over when she started hacking. "Astrid! What's wrong? Are you ok?" Luke demanded, rolling up and slapping her back a few times. When she finally got control of herself, with the help of a glass of water her mom pressed into her hand, Astrid read the letter again.

"I can't believe it…" She whispered to herself as she read it again.

 _Dear Astrid Hofferson,_

 _In our searches for new employees, we were pleased to find your name and resume online. Your background is intriguing and promising, and we would like to reach out to you with an opportunity. You have been formally invited to an employment interview at our headquarters in Charlotte this Friday. If you can make an appearance that day, please call our office at 803-785-5454. Similarly, if you cannot make this time and would like to propose a different time, call the number referred to above._

 _We look forward to seeing you._

 _Proudly,  
_

 _Veronica Cloud_

 _DragonTech Robotics._

She read through the letter twice, three times, and then a fourth and fifth. It was a job offer! They were offering her an interview! She got out of the chair, holding the letter in her hands like it was a glass vase. "Its…it's a job interview!" She practically squealed. Her mother and Luke split out into wide grins, and they had a family embrace. Even if Luke was hugging their legs, it was still a family embrace.

"Who from, sis?" He asked excitedly when they split.

"DragonTech Robotics!" She spluttered in her happiness. Other than the fact that the title said robotics in it, she had absolutely no clue who they were, even though she felt like she'd seen the name somewhere before. Recently. However, her mother seemed to know exactly who they were, judging from her wide eyes.

"Are you certain, dear?" She asked, her eyes dropping slightly. Astrid held out the letter and her mom took it, reading the name. "Wow…" She mumbled.

"What is it, mom?" Luke rolled around them, working his chair so that he was sitting next to Astrid and facing their mother. She handed Astrid the letter back and took a deep breath.

"DragonTech was one of the companies on the list when I tried to get you a prosthetic, Luke, but…theirs was by far the most expensive on the list. I remembered wondering why the company had such an interesting name, but other than that…"

Luke smiled, again showing that he held no grudge against his family for his situation. "It's alright, mom." He looked up at Astrid, his smile turning into a grin. "Astrid, you have to go call them! Like, right now!" She jumped in sudden frantic action.

She sprinted out of the house to next door, knocking on the door urgently. When it opened, a short old man of Chinese decent appear. He had short white hair and a long white mustache, framing a warm smile. "Hello, Astrid. Why in such a rush?"

"Hi Mr. Shifu! Can I use your phone really quick?" She asked breathlessly. The old man nodded graciously and held open his door. Astrid motored inside and grabbed the handset. She noted that Mr. Shifu had stepped outside, probably to give her some privacy. He was nice like that. Seeing as they had such money trouble, Astrid couldn't afford a phone for them. Not even a cell phone. It was an unnecessary cost, so they never had one.

Mr. Shifu had always been nice enough to let them use his phone when they really needed to. She read the number off the letter and dialed, each ring sending her anxiety through the roof. Finally, it was answered.

"DragonTech Robotics."

"Hi," She answered nervously. "M-my name is Astrid Hofferson, and I got a lette-"

"Ah, Miss Hofferson! We were expecting your call. Is Friday good for you?" The woman on the other end asked brightly. Astrid colored herself slightly intimidated, which was a bad thing already. They knew she was going to call today? How would they have known that?

"Yeah, I can definitely make that. What time?"

"Is eleven alright with you?" Astrid nodded excitedly, even if the secretary couldn't see it. Eleven made it so that she wouldn't have to worry about oversleeping. Alarm or not, it was always a concern.

"Yeah! Uh…what should I wear?" She hoped it wasn't super formal, with stockings and fancy perfume and all that. She didn't have that stuff and probably couldn't afford all of it with her money right now. If she got this job…everything would be different! It _had_ to pay more than being a waitress!

"Anything, as long as it's appropriate, and I mean that. When you arrive at the building, someone will be waiting for you. The address is 1502 West 1st Street. I'm sure you will find it alright. Walk straight in the front doors." The phone went dead, and Astrid gently replaced the receiver, even though she was practically squealing like a little girl inside.

When she opened the door, she found Mr. Shifu talking happily with her mom and Luke. She was still grinning madly when the door closed. The old man turned around, a wide smile on his face.

"A job offer, young Astrid! How wonderful!" He opened his arms, and she gave him a soft hug. She knew that the man was fairly frail and didn't want to hurt him.

"Thanks, Mr. Shifu."

He gave her cheek a light pat. "If anyone deserves it, child, it is you." He said softly before walking back into his house. Astrid bounced down the steps, grinning at her mom and brother as they embraced in yet another hug.

"So?" Luke prompted.

"Friday morning, eleven o'clock!" Astrid didn't really want to let her imagination run wild, but with the possibilities of such a job, she couldn't even help it. They could afford better clothes, _more_ clothes, more food, better drinks, and better insurance. They could even afford a TV if this went well! She had never in her wildest dreams thought that they would have a TV. Not since they sold theirs to pay the bills.

"Come on then! Let's celebrate!" Her mom cheered. The three of them went inside, the prospects of the future looking bright.

* * *

Friday morning came a lot quicker than she thought it would. She had to be thankful that Johann let her have those days off, because it was a real help that she wasn't sore or stressed this morning. She jumped out of bed, almost too excited to be groggy. Last night, she had picked out the best possible clothes she could find in her wardrobe. Which still amounted to something a lot of people would call casual, but to her, it was the finest.

A nice pair of navy blue jeans, along with a red blouse with flowery designs that curled around her hip and up, stopping at the neck line. Her mother had loaned her some bangles that she had refused to give away, as well as the necklace that her father had given her for their anniversary. Luke couldn't really contribute much in the way of physical appearance and he felt bad for it, but she assured him she knew that he was rooting for her.

She stood at the door to the house, staring at her car. Her old, clunky, piece of crap car that she would be driving up to a fucking robotics office in the city of Charlotte. God, she would look so...juvenile and all that. Everyone who worked at that place probably had a Benz or something better.

"Good luck sis. You'll get the job, I know it!" Luke punched her lightly on the hip, which was as high as he could reach from his chair. She took in a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. This was literally the chance of a lifetime. If she could land this, then maybe paying off that bill and getting their lives back on track wasn't just a pipedream after all.

"I'll see you guys later," She said, hugging Luke and then her mom.

"Good luck, dear." Her mom said with a small wave. Astrid got in the car, her focus firing up as she pulled out and hit the road for Charlotte. She could do this. It was nothing at all. She could do this. She could do this. Maybe.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews super appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! Don't get too excited now, but I have to change my update day to Wednesdays. Turns out with my internship starting next week, I will be a very, very busy person on Thursdays. Seeing that as fact, and I will actually not be able to upload anything come tomorrow morning, you get chapter 3 today!**

 **So many thanks to all you who reviewed, both people with guest accounts and full accounts! Many thanks to those of you who have followed and/or favorited both me as an author and Only at DragonTech!**

 **I think you will all enjoy this chapter!**

 **XXX**

She couldn't do this. In no fucking way could she have been even remotely prepared for what she found at 1502 West 1st Street. She had expected a fancy building, with fluorescent lights, copier machines and an unpaid intern or two. She wasn't expect a fucking _tower_. Sitting happily at 1502 West 1st Street was a god damn skyscraper.

Okay, maybe not exactly a skyscraper, but it was still a tower. It wasn't the tallest building in the city, but it had to be close to it. There was no indication outside of it that the building was anything more than an office building, so maybe she wasn't in for too much embarrassment. She parked on the street, two blocks down, and walked up. The front entrance of the building took the form of a set of four circle turning doors. She could see nothing on the inside of the building even as she walked along the front of it due to the dark window tint. Even the windows on the turning doors were mirrors.

She pushed the door around, and suddenly the nasty South Carolina heat turned into a dreamily cool front office. The floors were dark marble, lined with lighter marble streaks. This all led to a single, large desk, underneath a large name carved out of yet another color of marble-red.

 _DragonTech Robotics_ sat above a lone woman's head as she slid easily between four separate computer screens. On the left side of the desk were the easily recognizable outlines of elevator doors. There were five of them set into the marble, and without the clear outlines, she probably wouldn't have even known they were there.. The lobby was eerily quiet and deserted apart from her, so Astrid assumed that she had to go check in.

"Uh…excuse me?"

"Miss Hofferson!" The receptionist exclaimed, looking up for barely a second. "It is so nice to meet you! I'm Veronica." She held out a hand and Astrid took it, shaking firmly, momentarily ignoring how she knew that it was Astrid and not someone else. Maybe she was the only person who was supposed to be in here at this time.

Veronica was a nice woman, middle height with long auburn hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair was neatly brushed and obviously well taken care of, and it framed a sharp face that was covered in pale skin. She wore very professional clothes, wearing a blue button up shirt covered by a black jacket. Astrid only assumed she wore a skirt of the same black, along with some sort of black shoes.

"Astrid. So…do I just wait here?" She asked, looking around at the empty lobby. There wasn't even a single chair for her to sit on in here. Veronica shook her head, casting a sorry glance at Astrid.

"You shouldn't be. Damn Gobber…can't be anywhere on time…" She muttered, picking up the phone and dialing a few numbers. Astrid had to have heard wrong. Did she say Gobber? Was that a guy here? Maybe he was her boss or something. What a weird name to have…Gobber…as in…gobbling food, maybe?

"Gobber! What are you doing!? Get off your lazy rear end and get down here! What? No, you idiot! Your eleven o'clock is here! What? Don't send her down here, she's not allowed to interview people, remember? I don't make the rules! Don't you send he-" Veronica pulled the phone away from her ear, glaring at it.

She put the phone back down with an angry mumbled, but turned a bright smile on Astrid. "Alright! Change of plans. Ruffnut is going to come down and get you, then she'll take you to Gobber, who will interview you. Oh…hang on…" She trailed off as the phone rang on her desk. Ruffnut now? Did the cast of some Tim Burton movie work here...weird.

"Hello?" She answered sweetly. Astrid watched her face and smiled lightly when the receptionist made silly faces, gesturing at the phone. Suddenly, she stopped and furrowed her brow.

"What? Why do you want me to ask her that? It's rude, that's why!" Astrid was slowly beginning to doubt this decision. So far, she had only met a single person face to face, and things were already weird. In a way, it wasn't a bad weird…but still weird. Veronica rolled her eyes and tilted the phone away from her face. "Do you have a cell phone, dear?" She asked.

Astrid shook her head glumly. "No…sorry, none of my family have phones…" She felt weird and a little ashamed at admitting that in this day and age, she didn't even have a cell phone. Veronica didn't seem to take much notice though.

"No, she doesn't. No. No. No. No. Stop bugging me and call Fishlegs then!" She slapped the phone down, an apologetic look coming across her face. Again, Astrid heard another strange name for a person. Fishlegs? Where the hell did someone have to go to be named Fishlegs?

She scratched her chin awkwardly. "Uh…do all people in DragonTech have such…interesting names?"

Veronica smiled, but shook her head. "Not at all. Only a few. The Board of Directors."

"Is that normal?"

"Only at DragonTech! Here, we tr-" As she was speaking, the phone rang again. She rolled her eyes and snatched it up.

"What?! Yes, she's here! What? No! How would I know? How exactly do you know she's here already? Your sister hasn't even arrived to pick her up!" So now there were siblings here? She looked around at the giant lobby again, wondering just who she was talking to. This tower was huge, yet every single person who called her seemed to be either close friends of at least close colleagues.

This place had to employ hundreds, if not thousands of people. Again though, she hadn't seen anyone apart from Veronica. As she was thinking, she heard a loud ding come from one of the elevators. The lobby, being so large and covered in marble, echoed the ding for what sounded like forever. When the doors finally opened, Astrid was once again unsure of this place.

The girl that walked out couldn't be older than twenty five and she looked, for all intents and purposes, like a juvenile delinquent. She had long, messy blond hair tied up into dreadlocks. Those dreads were left long, hanging down her back and in front of her shoulders. She wore a black beanie with a red symbol on the front of it. On her chest, she wore a blue tank top, as well as a single half-moon necklace. Her bare arms were covered in tattoos, most of them of things that Astrid couldn't identify from here. She wore tight fitting jeans that rode _perilously_ low on her hips, all coming down into classic black converse shoes. Her nose and both ears were pierced, as well as a single small hoop in her right eyebrow.

"You the new girl?" She asked gruffly. Astrid nodded and would have said something, but the receptionist beat her to it.

"Her name is Astrid, and you be nice! Take her straight to Gobber, no detours!" She said firmly. The tattooed girl rolled her eyes. Astrid assumed that this must be Ruffnut.

"Why don't you let me do interviews?" She demanded, crossing her arms. Veronica assumed exactly the same stance, glaring back.

"Because you told the last guy who came in here that he had to jump off the top of the building if he wanted a job." She deadpanned.

"Me and Tuffnut did it!" She protested, and Astrid stared at her wide eyed. Who was Tuffnut, and why were him and this girl jumping off buildings?

"You two were wearing wingsuits!" Oh.

"We were going to give him a parachute if he wanted one!" That's good…maybe? Why would he not want a parachute...

"Take her to Gobber, _now_."

"Fine! I'm going. Come on, Astrid…" She continued to grumble to herself as she marched back to the elevator she just came out of. Astrid gave Veronica a quick wave and a smile, which the receptionist returned with a thumbs up to her.

Once they were in the elevator, Astrid assumed that it would be quiet, but as soon as the doors were closed, Ruffnut, which Astrid had just remembered was this girl's name, turned to her. "Why so nervous?" She asked bluntly, standing with both a hip and a pierced eyebrow cocked.

Astrid jerked back, scrambling for a response. "I'm not nervous."

"You're sweating. This place is kept at a constant sixty five degrees, on the spot. You're an athlete, or at least someone athletic minded, so you're in good shape and health, so that couldn't be the reason. Only reason you would be sweating is a natural response to being nervous. So...are you nervous?" Astrid had to admit that for her look, Ruffnut was pretty perceptive.

She sighed and nodded, figuring that it would help to talk to someone who was in the company already about it. "Yeah. I uh…I really need this job…so you could say I'm nervous because I don't want to fuck it up for my mom and brother." She explained. Ruffnut tilted her head gently.

"Something wrong with them?"

Astrid hesitated. It wouldn't be good to tell someone in the company that she was as poor as a street rat right now but...being honest was a family policy. "Well, my dad was the breadwinner, but he died two years ago, so I've had to work to keep us afloat. I'm only a waitress right now, so I _really_ want to do well for this interview."

"Do your mom and brother not work?"

Astrid hesitated for a moment. "Well…no. My brother is fourteen, and my mom can't really work…so, this is really important."

"Dude," Ruffnut laughed. "Don't even worry about it. They call this an interview, but it's not. First lesson about DragonTech: we're pretty picky. We go to the people we want. If we call you in, you got the job already."

Warmth exploded in Astrid's chest, and she couldn't help a smile break out on her face. Ruffnut saw it and laughed, holding out a fist. Astrid gave it a light bump. "Congratulations, killer. Now, lesson two, as I'm sure you've already seen: don't take things at face value around here, especially where me and the other heads are concerned."

"Other heads?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Yeah; me, Rachel, Veronica, who you already met, my twin brother Trevor, Gary, Frank, Scott and of course, Hiccup. Now, you didn't hear those downstairs. You heard the split names." Ah. So the weird names are code for something. Ruffnut continued to talk, giving her no time to ask questions.

"I'm Ruffnut, Trevor is Tuffnut, Veronica is Valka, Gary is Gobber, Frank is Fishlegs, Scott is Snotlout, and Hiccup is…well, Hiccup. You'll meet all of us today."

"Why are they called split names?" Astrid asked, wanting to know so she doesn't mess anything up. Ruffnut smirked.

"Well, say someone asks you what you're doing and you just say 'Rachel' told you to do it. Could be anyone, but if you say 'Ruffnut'…well, only one Ruffnut in the building. Same goes for the other heads. Split names. After a while, you'll probably forget our real names."

Astrid blinked in surprise. "Forget your real names? Have people actually done that?"

Ruffnut snickered. "Only at DragonTech," Just then, the doors slid open and Astrid was greeted with an intensely different thing than she imagined, except for the part where she could see employees bustling about, busy with work.

This wasn't just regular offices, but they looked like labs. Of course, being a robotics company, she assumed there would be labs here, but she didn't think that she would be interviewing on a lab floor. She knew next to nothing about machinery and all that, and she didn't even own a computer, so it made no sense that she would be here.

Thinking about that, she actually had no idea why a robotics company had contacted her in the first place. She followed Ruffnut through the halls, and she found herself glued to the things that people were working on. The thing she did notice about everyone was that people were happy. It wasn't quiet, like a regular office building, with people glued to computer screens in a monotonous day to day grind.

People were laughing, music was playing in a giant lab and even Ruffnut was being greeted every two seconds by people. She simply waved and said hey to everyone, but from first glance, this looked like a great place to work. Which was odd, considering what she heard downstairs from Veronica.

Finally, they walked into a big conference room with a long brown table in it. Ruffnut gestured to a chair at the end of the table. "Go ahead and sit down. I don't know where Gobber is, but…"

"Ah, Astrid!" A cheery voice called out. Behind Ruffnut, a man came through the door, wearing a casual brown suit over a white button up shirt. He was large in the belly, and had long braids coming down from his mustache. She wondered just how unruly that thing looked when it wasn't braided. He carried a box with him as he walked in, sitting down across from her and sporting a wide grin.

"Welcome to your intervie-"

"I already told her that it's not an interview, doofus." Ruffnut interrupted with a triumphant smirk on her face. Gobber glared at her from his seat, his mouth hanging open.

"You _told_ her!? Why must you ruin my interviews?" He demanded, crossing his arms on his chest. Ruffnut planted both her hands on her hips, glaring back at him. Astrid sat quietly, wondering exactly what she was getting into with this.

"Why do you have to be a grumpy old man?"

"You're a buffoon!" Gobber retorted. Ruffnut jabbed a finger at him.

"Hey! That was a pretty good one for an old fart!" She cackled with laughter, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Astrid jerked in her seat at the words, fearfully looking at the other man, expecting to see a stormy expression of anger. Instead, she found a wide smirk.

"Ah, verbal sparring. Always a good pick me up!" He laughed loudly for a quick moment before clearing his throat. "Alright then. Seeing as Ruffnut ruined it, I'll start like this. Welcome, Astrid, to your orientation for DragonTech Robotics! Congratulations!"

Astrid grinned, nodding her head at him. "Thanks! I'm uh…really excited to get started." She wanted to know, right now, how much she would be getting paid for this job. Seeing as she had been told that she already had the job, being told what her pay would be was logically the next step…right?

"Alright! Well, we need to have a bit of a boring talk first, and then we get to fun stuff!" He leaned back in his chair, flipping open a file in front of him. "So! DragonTech is the leading robotics manufacturer worldwide, profits of thirty billion last year…blah, blah, blah...assets valued at a hundred billion…blah, blah, blah…employee satisfaction rating at ninety three percent, third highest worldwide…blah, blah, blah…screw it," He tossed the file onto the desk carelessly.

"That's a whole bunch of boring crap that you don't need to worry about. All you need to know is that working here will be the best thing you've ever done with your life. Now, let's head over to see Fishlegs!" He got up suddenly, strutting from the room. Astrid hurried after him, again being struck interested by the things being worked on in the labs.

When they got into the elevator, she finally had a chance to look at the buttons. Forty floors were all represented there…except for a lone button at the top, separated from all the others. There were several colors associate to different sets of buttons, and together, all the sets made up forty floors.

"What do the colors mean?" She asked as Gobber pressed the button for the thirtieth floor.

"The colors are representative of which head runs those floors. Brown is Fishlegs floors, while red is Snotlout's, the half green and half blue are Ruffnut's, while half green and half yellow are Tuffnut's. My own floors are white, and Valka's are purple. We each have five floors, most of us for our labs and offices, while Valka's five are made up of accounting and all that jazz, and Ruffnut's are for rehab and therapy; that's where your home will be."

Astrid, momentarily filing away the information of where she would be working, judged that each of them together made thirty floors. Upon inspection of the buttons, she discovered that from floor thirty one to forty, all the buttons were rimmed in black. She pointed at them curiously. "What's black for?"

"Oh, those are Hiccups floors." He answered simply.

"Hiccup?"

"Hiccup."

Astrid fought the urge to laugh. Such a ridiculous name, and she couldn't exactly say why she thought it was funnier than Ruffnut or Gobber. "Is he another head?" Astrid wondered. Gobber shook his head, a short chortle coming from him.

"Oh no, Astrid. Hiccup is the boss. The big boss. Owner and CEO of DragonTech Robotics. You're meeting him today. He is the source of everything that DragonTech is today. See, when his grandfather started this company, it was called Dragon Industries. Then, his father took over and got into the electronics biz, then it became DragonTech Industries. When Hiccup took over, it became DragonTech Robotics because the lad's head is like a bloody machine." Gobber's voice echoed with admiration and respect, and Astrid once again found herself intimidated. This Hiccup guy sounded like someone who was larger than life. Except for one thing.

"Hiccup, though? Is that his real name?" She posed curiously. Gobber got a penchant look on his face.

"No, that's his split name. He has a real name but…come to think of it, I don't think any of us remember what it is anymore. He's always been Hiccup to us." She wanted to ask more about this seemingly giant of a person, but the elevator was only one floor away from their destination.

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open to reveal a floor filled with offices and things that most office buildings had. "You see, within each of our divisions, we all have a single office floor, and then four operational floors. Our office floor is always the last floor of our division. So, for example, Fishlegs floors are twenty six through thirty. Thirty, this floor, is his office floor. Understand?"

"I think," She said, even though she was struggling to see how she would find her way around this place. It was huge. These offices that she was walking past were incredible. Everything was slim and streamlined, and there were flat screens everywhere. She couldn't really tell what was on them, but she did see local news on a few.

Even the furniture looked almost futuristic in nature. Couches and chairs were covered in sleek black leather, with almost liquid looking armrests. There was artwork all over the walls, most of it abstract and geometric. The tiles floors were crisp white, while the black furniture contrasted with it. Occasionally, she came across a blood red emblem of a dragon's head set into the wall.

They carried on until they found an office, the door open and classical music sounding softly from it. Gobber walked in, banging on the door as he did. "Fishlegs! Meet our newest employee, Astrid!"

From behind the desk, another pretty large man sat, dressed in a similar outfit to Gobbers, except his suit was more cream colored. He had messed brown hair, chubby cheeks, and an overall joyful expression. "It's nice to meet you, Astrid. I'm Frank Inger, or Fishlegs." He held out a hand and she shook it firmly.

He sat back down, pulling open a drawer in his desk. "Alright. Well, this is just a quick bit of business that we need to take care of. I already know that you don't have a phone, so…" Astrid froze as he placed a rectangular box on the desk, pushing it towards her.

"That is for you, and you need to create a pin number an…Astrid?" He stopped talking, but Astrid was still focused on the box. She hesitantly opened it, and inside, sitting there like it wasn't the single coolest object she had ever laid eyes on, was a slim smart phone. It had a black, metallic sheen and shine to it, and it was hers.

She realized that both Gobber and Fishlegs were staring at her. She coughed awkwardly. "Sorry…just, I've never owned something like this…I mean, I don't even own a TV…" She clamped her mouth shut, realizing that she was telling them more than they probably wanted to know.

"Oh. Well. Anyway, turn it on and create a pin, four digits. Once you do, give it to me so I can plug it into the system." She hesitantly took the phone, turning it over several times to see if there was a power button on it. She felt her face brighten with embarrassment when she couldn't figure it out.

She got a nudge on her shoulder, and when she looked up, Gobber was holding the exact same phone, the screen facing her. He pointed a big meaty finger at the top right corner of the device, and when she investigated the spot on the phone in her hand, Astrid found a small button with the symbol for power on it.

She pressed it and the phone came to life. The screen illuminated with the same red dragon head emblem she'd seen in the halls outside. A number pad came up, prompting her to create a pin, just as Fishlegs had said. She gave it some thought, finally settling on Luke's birthday. 0317.

The phone chimed and opened up to a simple screen that had the time in big digital numbers. Underneath it were icons for various things, and she hated to admit it…but she had no idea how to use the thing. She held it anxiously, wondering just how she could ever manage to figure it out without completely embarrassing herself. Lucky her, Gobber had been watching her stare at the screen with trepidation.

"No worries, Astrid. It's okay if you don't know how to use it. We'll teach you. You'll have it down pat in no time." She gave him a small smile as thanks. She wasn't as completely hopeless with things like computers, but when it came to a smart phone…shit, she'd never even had a _cell_ phone, much less a smart phone.

"Alright! Come around here and type your pin into the system, and then it's off to see Hiccup!" Fishlegs said, getting up out of his black leather seat. Every piece of furniture in this building was black. She easily punched in her new pin, then stepped back around to the chair, allowing Fishlegs to get back to his own seat.

He typed into the computer, and then a printer nearby whirred to life. It spit out a few pages, which the head immediately aligned and stapled. He rolled back to his computer and did something else on the screen.

After a few more seconds, Fishlegs took out his own phone and unlocked the screen. His fingers flashed across it, and she yelped in surprise when the phone in her grip vibrated. The screen lit up, and she saw a message on the screen.

 **Fishlegs [11:25] Time to see Hiccup.**

"All of the heads numbers are already programmed into that. Apart from Hiccups. See, anyone who is employed here who doesn't have a phone is given one. Here," He slid the packet of papers over to her. "That is information for you about media relations and all that. Read, sign and return to Valka as soon as possible. Your phone number is on the top in bold."

She found it quickly and memorized it. Once she did, it gave her time to think about how things were changing. As of four days ago, she was still a waitress, working to support her family. Now, she was an employee of a worldwide robotics company, and she had her own _phone number!_ Wow. Things were definitely about to change for her and her family. Big time.

Fishlegs clapped his hand together loudly, pulling her from her thoughts. "Alright! Time for your detailing! To the boss we go!" She had to hold her excitement at that thought. Finally, she would see just how much different her life would be!

As the trio walked from Fishlegs office to the elevators, she had to contain herself. Even if she couldn't take the smile from her face as she walked, she would contain until she was alone. Then she would pop.

 **XXX**

 **Didja like it? Let me know in a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello Readers! It has been a tough week for me so far and I have been relentlessly busy, so I apologize for not having done more to reply to your kind reviews on chapter 3. I got them all and loved them, so thank you for that.**

 **This chapter marks a time in this story that will challenge the boundaries of what is realistically possible in the world we live in, but please don't scoff at it just yet. Everything has a reason and an explanation, I promise. That being said, this is an exciting chapter for me, for Astrid, and hopefully for all you wonderful people who read it!**

 **Consider this as tomorrows update. I won't have time in the morning to throw it up.**

* * *

When the elevator stopped at the fortieth floor and the doors opened, Astrid literally thought she had gone through a portal into another dimension. When she thought the other floors were nice, this one really was from the future. The doors had no handles on them and hugged flush with the wall. The only indication that there was actually a door was the outline in the wall.

"Oh yes," Gobber remarked. "I should have mentioned that the higher you go in the building the more high tech it gets. Hiccup's brain is like a supercomputer; he's a robotics master." She could only nod and keep marveling at the things she was seeing. There were no televisions here, but instead holographic projections onto walls.

Then, shattering the technological wonderland that was this floor, Astrid heard a loud bark, or roar, or… _something_ , along with heavy clicking. From around a corner, a huge mountain of black fur came sliding around, charging towards them with its tongue hanging out its mouth. Astrid froze in place, her inherent fear of dogs preventing her from moving. The giant dog came to a sliding stop in front of them, panting and slobbering everywhere.

"Toothless, you giant beast!" Gobber laughed, petting the dog as he walked by. "You be nice to Astrid, now!" Fishlegs did the same, leaning down to give the dog a more sustained scratch. However, when he walked by, the massive dog didn't go with. He sat there ten feet away, his head reaching up past her breast line at least, staring at her. She couldn't move or breath, her eyes set on this giant monster of an animal. She'd been attacked by a dog when she was a little girl, and ever since then had a terrifying fear of them. Especially one who very well might weigh more than she did.

Their stalemate continued, and to her dismay, neither Gobber nor Fishlegs realized that she was not with them anymore. The dog sat there, and she had no idea what to do. For whatever damn reason, there was nobody else on this floor who could help her with this crazed animal. She decided that maybe she could go around him. She took a slow step to the left.

Only to have the dog suddenly jump up and assume a stance that looked like he was stalking prey. She froze again, unsure of what to do, when a voice finally came up. "He thinks you're playing a game with him."

She carefully turned her head around to see a mirror image of Ruffnut standing there. This must be Trevor, or Tuffnut, her twin brother. He wore his hair in the same long dreadlocks that his sister did. As well as that, another half-moon necklace hung around his neck, and she quickly noted that it was the other half of the moon that Ruffnut wore.

He wore a yellow tank top and brown cargo shorts, along with similar Converse sneakers to his sister. While her arms were covered in many tattoos, he had a single large one covering his entire right arm. It was bright and colorful, with what looked like waves, fish and ships. On his left arm, there was a devilish looking skull tattooed onto his shoulder, but that was all for that arm. On the left side of his neck, it was tattooed to look like someone had pulled his skin back, and underneath were wires, circuits and gears. On his left leg, winding around his knee and calf, was a tattoo of a winged lizard that looked to have sparks coming from its fanged mouth.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked when she was moving so slowly. "Are you scared of dogs?" His blunt question was welcome as she nodded fiercely. He let a quick laugh go before running past her and tackling the dog. The two of them began to wrestle.

"Go on. Turn right at the end of this hall, then go to the end of that hall!" His voice reached her and she quickly went around the pair, scurrying down the hall. When she was finally clear, she reoriented herself. She reached the end of the hall and turned right, as instructed. At the end of the hall that was now on, she saw a room that was open. It was the only one, so she assumed that to be her destination.

When she poked her head in, Fishlegs and Gobber and another man turned to look at her. "Astrid! Enjoy playing with Toothless, did you? Come and sit down." Gobber said, gesturing to a seat next to himself. This table was unlike the other tables that she'd seen so far, because this one was round, whereas most of the others were long and rectangular.

She took the seat, and quickly found herself on the end of a long stare from the man she didn't know. He was so damn big that she doubted there was anything to him at all except muscle. "Uh…hi. I'm Astrid…" She said hesitantly, not sure why his gaze was so insistent on her.

He held a hand up in a small wave, his face splitting into a far too pearly white smile. "Scott." She could see, when he parted his lips, that his teeth had been worked on by a dentist. They were serenely perfect in his mouth, all of them exactly the same length. Even his gums looked like they had been altered. His skin was almost orange at this point. She'd seen what people look like when they overuse tanning beds. He wore a polo shirt that looked two sizes too small for him, leaving admittedly large biceps exposed.

He must have detected her gaze and flexed his arm. "Like what you see?"

"Snot, stop staring at her like a piece of meat," Ruffnut barked as she walked in, her brother right behind her. Astrid tensed when Toothless the demon hound bounded in after them, but to her relief he didn't come near her. Instead, he ran over and flopped down on a big dog bed that sat in the room. The twins sat down at two more empty seats, Ruffnut to her left and Tuffnut on the other side of his sister. With those two seats taken, there was only one left.

"Whatever, Ruffnut. Don't butt in,"

"She's one of mine, so I will. Keep your slobbery paws off." Ruffnut snapped

All of them had a file in front of them, while she had nothing. "Alright!" Gobber exclaimed. "Formal introductions! Astrid, this is Scott, Trevor, Rachel, myself who is Gary, and Frank. Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Gobber and Fishlegs, respectively. We are the Board of Directors. Or heads. Or whatever you want to call it." She waved and said hi to all of them again, even though she had unofficially met them all already. They all returned her greeting with smiles, especially Snotlout, who actually winked at her.

As much as she was disgusted by him, she wouldn't allow that to show this early. She smiled at him weakly, not really wanting to upset one of her bosses already. Judging by the way his smile widened, she may have already made a vital mistake. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Fishlegs took out his phone and typed something into it.

Not three minutes later, she heard a voice echo from the door. "Sorry I'm late." She looked around to see who it was, and her mind stopped. He was so… _different_. It was still him, but he was different than when she'd first seen him. That time, it was so casual. Jeans, a shirt and Chinese food. This…this was really different.

When he came and sat down, directly across from her at the table, she couldn't hold herself back. "Harry!?" She blurted out, her mouth hanging open. Immediately, Gobber slammed a gloved hand on the desk, pointing at the auburn haired man with the opposite, a triumphant grin on his face.

"That's what your bloody name is! I thought it was Harold, but I wasn't far off!" He laughed loudly, almost like he was patting himself on the back. Harry, to his credit, gave a bored look.

"You forgot my name? Talk about loyalty on the board…" He grumbled. Ruffnut, who was sitting next to her, balled up a piece of paper and tossed it at him, bonking him on the forehead. She snickered along with her brother while Harry looked annoyed.

"Dude, nobody remembered what your name was. We all call you Hiccup, like twenty four seven. Speaking of which, how did _you_ know his name?" Astrid heard Ruffnut's question, but she was still dumbstruck as to how the nice, average guy from the mall, who knocked her and their food over, had turned into this…this _man_.

He wore an obviously expensive black suit, with a single button done in the middle of his torso. It covered a purple button up shirt that had the top three buttons undone, revealing a startlingly muscled portion of upper chest. He wore a watch on his wrist that simply screamed expensive, with a thick golden frame. His stubble hadn't been shaved, but it had been trimmed, and the darker shade on his jawline made her mouth dry up.

Harry sat down, looking at her inquisitively. "We met at the mall a while back. The day that I snuck off." He said simply. The others seemed to accept this explanation and set about opening the files that were placed in front of them. Harry, who had left his closed, leaned back, clasping his hands behind his head.

"How do you like it so far, Astrid?" He asked. She shook her shock away and smiled graciously.

"It's very impressive. I'm excited to start here…um…what am I actually doing here?" She asked. She was going to ask one of the others, but she never got the chance. She guessed that he would know, seeing as that nice average guy from the mall was actually the owner and CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. So far, she'd been too swept up in the magic of it all to actually question her presence here. She didn't even have a degree. How the hell was she sitting here?

"We have a large prosthetics division here, and we have patients who come in for new prostheses who need physical therapy. You told me that you focused in it while you were at school. Your resume reflected that as well. So, I have hired you on as a physical therapist." He explained. Astrid's smile widened on her face. So she would actually get to do what she had training in! Granted, it wasn't _much_ training…but still.

"We'll get to the details of your job later on," He flipped open his file finally. "I assume everyone read this? _All_ of it?" There were nodding heads and murmurs around the table. Harry, or rather, Hiccup as she would have to start calling him, set his elbows on the table, setting one hand in the palm of the other.

"Good. Suggestions."

"Sixty five." Snotlout said immediately. "College dropout." The words stung her deeply

"The reason for that isn't on here…" Fishlegs said absently, scanning one of the sheets. Astrid swallowed hard, her muscles tensing as that came up. Just her luck that it would be something that they focus on. As she was fighting her newfound anxiety, she met Hiccup's eyes.

"I know why," He said to the others. "It's a good reason. Not academic or effort related." She let a smile cross her lips, even if she felt like she could be a little mad. In a way, she felt like he had tricked her at the mall, but then again…she did have a resume out, and he couldn't have known that she would be there with Luke that day.

"What's the reason?" Snotlout asked, flipping through the pages. Hiccup looked at him sternly, his jaw clenching.

"One that is perfectly acceptable. Moving on." His voice hardened in that moment, and she almost shied into her chair at the officious, reprimanding tone. She was wondering where the nice guy from the mall was. The one who gave her a high five for even mentioning that she had done physical therapy classes.

"Ninety two." Tuffnut chimed in with a smile. "Still though, college dropout. Sorry Astrid," She blinked in surprise at the apologetic shrug he gave her, as well as how casual he sounded when addressing her. She thought that Boards of Directors were stuffy old men, condescending in everything they do and elitist in nature. Here though, it didn't appear to be that way. Apart from Snotlout, that is.

"I agree with Tuffnut." Fishlegs leaned back, folding his hands in his lap. Gobber shook his head at the two younger people.

"One hundred. Never owned a cell phone, doesn't own a TV." Astrid jerked in a twisted, cruel mixture of surprise and shame as the facts came out. She sounded so…shitty when they were saying these things. College dropout, doesn't own a TV, never had a cell phone…she sounded like a fucking homeless girl.

"One hundred ten. Only person working at home." Ruffnut interjected. Astrid again felt her shame rise as her faults were called into public knowledge. She shrank in her chair, wondering if they had purposefully ran her around to the different heads to find out about her.

It was a stupid thought. None of them had outright asked her what her home life was like. Apart from Ruffnut at least, but that was natural following of conversation when she had asked about her mom and brother.

"Let's do this," Hiccup suggested. "How about we talk about conditions, _before_ salary." Astrid's eyes widened. They were talking about _salary_ with those numbers!? Ruffnut wanted to pay her a hundred and ten thousand!? Shit, the lowest number she heard, sixty five, was far beyond what she had imagined!

"Astrid?" Her brain slammed back into place, and back to the conversation, her neck coloring red with embarrassment when all the heads were staring at her. Hiccup had spoken. Every time she looked at him, she still saw the average mall goer. It was…weird to see him in that chair.

"Yes?"

"Conditions for you employment. Do you agree to talk about them?" Hiccup prompted. She nodded wordlessly, unsure of what he was going to ask of her.

"Alright. Floors open. One at a time."

"Finish her degree." Fishlegs said immediately. "DragonTech can pay tuition costs, as well as incidentals."

"Astrid?" Hiccup posed. She looked around curiously. What did they want? Did they want her to decide? Did they want her input?

"Uh…"

"Are you willing to go back to school and finish earning your degree?" Gobber simplified her task for her, and Astrid nodded eagerly. She liked school anyway, of course she would go back.

"Definitely!" She said happily.

"Agreed." The others chimed in. Hiccup stood up from his chair and went over to a side counter in the room. He dug through the drawers and pulled out a pad of paper, as well as a pen, and came back to the table. He wrote something down, then dropped the pen.

"Alright. Others?"

"What's this reason for dropping out of college?" Snotlout posed, his eyes searching her own when she looked up at him. Before anyone could even say anything, Hiccup spoke up.

"Optional. Astrid, your decision. You can say no, and I won't hold it against you." She met his eyes, and for the first time since he walked in here, she saw the average guy from the mall. His green eyes were soft on her, just like they had been when he knocked her over that day, and his smile was gentle. It made her feel good, but she still shook her head steadily.

"Condition rejected. However, I know the reason for it, and I will factor it in with the final decision." Hiccup said officiously, and suddenly, the CEO was back.

"Do you own a computer, Astrid?" Ruffnut asked. Astrid shook her head slightly, again feeling ashamed. With all the high tech stuff here, a computer must seem like a common teddy bear to these people.

The dreadlocked woman pointed a finger at a laptop in front of Gobber. "We supply her a laptop. She'll need one for correspondence and appointments." Ruffnut said. Hiccup didn't even ask for opinions, nodding and writing it down on the pad. Were these the kind of conditions this company thought of? She thought that conditions were usually stuff she had to do, but they were beginning to list stuff _they_ were going to do.

She thought about it. Would they respond to her if she suggested anything? Did she even have a right to put anything forth? So far, Ruffnut and Hiccup were on her side, and Gobber seemed to like her well enough. "Uh…can I say something?" She hated how quiet and timid she sounded. Like a mouse whispering to lions.

"A condition?" Fishlegs asked, his eyes wide with surprise. Astrid nodded uncertainly. She could see around the table that faces were surprised, but she saw none that were really dismissive of her. Except for Snotlout. He looked really condescending over there.

"By all means. Fire away." Gobber offered. She was hesitant, but she noticed that Hiccup's mouth kept twitching into a small smile.

"I would…uh…like a guaranteed day off to spend with my mom and brother…" She said, her eyes flicking around to see who would shoot her down first. To her surprise and general elation, exactly the opposite happened.

"What day?" Ruffnut posed. Astrid thought for a moment, knowing that he had Saturday or Sunday off, so she should make it something where she could spend a lot of time with him consecutively. Luke was in school for half the day during the week, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him on the weekends, so…

"Friday?"

"I agree." Ruffnut said immediately. Tuffnut and Fishlegs both nodded as well, each of them giving her wide smiles. Tuffnut leaned over and presented a fist to her, and she happily bumped it with her own.

"I don't. How can a new hire make such a demand?" Snotlout growled, glaring at Ruffnut and her brother. Astrid tried sinking into her chair, scared that she had overstepped her bounds. To her relief, Ruffnut wasn't the only one batting for her.

"It's not unreasonable. Family is as important as work, and if we're going to send her back to school as well, that will only take more time away from being with her loved ones. I agree with Ruffnut." Fishlegs argued, leaning forward in his chair until his belly was squeezed between himself and the shiny wooden table.

"We're going to be paying for that school! As a new hire, she should be putting in more hours here to balance out the costs!" Snotlout shot back.

"Snotlout, when you finish taking three hour breaks to go to your stupid tanning booth, then you can talk about people putting in hours." Ruffnut said scathingly. Snotlout slammed his hand on the table, rising threateningly from his seat, a snarl on his face.

"Enough!" Hiccup yelled, his voice sounding more like a roar than a yell. "Rachel, keep things like that out of board meetings. Scott, get out of your chair like that again and this _new hire_ will take your empty seat on this board, Understood?" His eyes were wide and fiery, and Snotlout sank back into his seat, looking like a kicked dog. He remained silent, clearly still fuming, and Harry's eyes narrowed.

"Understood?" Astrid's blood ran cold at the pure power and command his voice seemed to carry. She couldn't imagine hearing him be angry with someone. That would probably be downright terrifying. She supposed that he needed that voice to be stern for the business world. To her credit, Ruffnut only smirked at the reprimand. Astrid had a feeling that there was something that she wasn't privy to going on here, but she didn't linger on it. It was clear that this company was _very_ unique in its management, and it wouldn't do her any good to be stirring up fights with her bosses.

"Good. I agree. You have every Friday off, guaranteed." He wrote it down on the pad. When he was done, he ripped the page he had written on off the pad and started writing something else. When he was done, he slid the pad over to her, the weighted stack of paper gliding easily to sit in front of her.

 _Are you willing to talk about your medical bills?_

The question was simple. It was straight forward. He wanted to know, and by the way things were going, it wasn't for anything malicious. She bit her lip, thinking about it. Would it be appropriate to talk about that? Was she even at liberty to say no, seeing as the owner of the entire company she would be working for was asking her?

She knew that he only knew because of Luke at the mall. While it embarrassed her that he did know about them, she knew that he wasn't looking down on her. The fact that he decided to write the question down instead of asking it out loud displayed his concern for her mental well-being. She gestured, and in a second the pen slid down to her as well.

She wrote down a quick answer and slid the pad back to him. All the heads on the table watched the pad slide, then stop under Hiccups firm hand. He read the answer, then looked up at her, his cocked eyebrow asking the question she knew was coming. She nodded slightly. He thought for another moment, then wrote something else down and slid the pad and pen back. When it passed, Snotlout cast an annoyed glance at his boss.

"What is this, pre-schoo-"

"Quiet." Hiccup snapped, glaring at the larger man. Astrid looked down at the pad.

 _How strapped for cash are you?_ Again, she figured that his concerns were wholly good natured. He knew that she and her family weren't so good in the money department. Luke had told him that they could afford much, and he had only found out more through the meeting. She scribbled on the pad and slid it back over.

 _Pretty tight._ It wasn't a moment later before the pad came back.

 _I can give you an advance on your first paycheck. Give you some breathing room._ She glanced up, meeting his emerald eyes. She saw only kindness there, and she gave a quick nod. He smiled for a bare second before his face hardened again.

"We're done talking conditions. Final decision time. Fishlegs?" Hiccup looked at the larger man. He nodded and took out his phone, setting it on the table in front of the CEO. Ruffnut leaned over to her.

"He's recording a statement detailing your employment; we use that recording for organizational purposes…well…Valka does at least…" She said quietly. Astrid nodded in understanding, excited to hear what her 'detailing' was.

"Conditions and details for the employment of Astrid Finn Hofferson have been discussed and decided upon in this meeting of the Board of Directors, on this tenth day of May in the year two thousand and fifteen and are as follows: Astrid Hofferson will attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as a full time student, and shall receive reduced salary until a four year degree is earned; the costs of attendance to the aforementioned University shall be covered by DragonTech Robotics; DragonTech Robotics shall supply Astrid Hofferson with a company issue laptop, as well as a company issue cell phone; Astrid Hofferson shall have every Friday of every week of every year off from duties at DragonTech Robotics for the purpose of valued time with family. Astrid Hofferson shall work a flexible schedule to be arranged at the immediate closure of this meeting; Astrid Hofferson shall work the aforementioned flexible schedule at a salary of no less than one hundred and twelve thousand dollars per year; the aforementioned salary shall increase upon the earning of a four year degree, as stated prior, and the percentage increase to be decided after the conclusion of a meeting of the Board of Directors. Dictated and validated by Hiccup Haddock, owner and CEO of DragonTech Robotics."

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 **So, I hope you all enjoyed it!  
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 **Expect chapter 5 to come on Sunday, because it needs to come out sooner to balance out this chapter a bit.**

 **Reviews are super appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**As promised to you readers, here is Chapter 5! This will explain a little more as to Astrid's role at DragonTech. I don't have much to say in this AN other than thank you so much for your kind reviews, and for those guests who reviewed, get an account so I can talk to you!**

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Astrid followed Ruffnut, whom she discovered would be the head that she was working directly under, as they went to the elevators, the meeting now over with. She had to admit that listening to Hiccup announce her detailing was exciting, seeing as it was clearly very official and set in stone. Well…to her, it was set in stone. Maybe to them, it was just something to change, but to her…it was life changing. She had fought and struggled, with all the love and support of her mother and brother, for not so much in life. Now though...that would all change.

And her salary! A hundred and twelve thousand a _year_! And according to what he said, that would go up once she got her degree! It was both amazing and scary at the same time, and she couldn't decide if she should be a simply smiling wreck or a serious and ready to get to work sentinel. Either way, her future was changing. Rapidly. Every five minutes in this building changed it. A small flicker of doubt and concern burned within her about how come this come about. She wasn't nearly qualified or anything, so it was a mystery. She wouldn't let it rule her, but she'd keep it in the back of her mind.

"Alright, I told you some lessons before, so I'll just continue on those. Lesson three: floors twenty one through twenty five are your home. Those are my floors, and now, your floors." The two women got into the elevator. Ruffnut hit the button for the twenty third floor, and the doors slid closed.

"So…when do I start?" Astrid asked, goosebumps running up and down her arms at how excited and scared she was.

"Monday," Ruffnut said easily. "For the first couple weeks and or months, you'll hang out with me and learn the ropes. Seeing as you haven't finished a degree and you don't know _all_ you can know…" Astrid looked away, shame again welling up inside her. Yeah, maybe she got this sweet job and all that, but the amount of times that her dropping out of college had come up was uncomfortable.

"Hey killer," Ruffnut's fist softly pushed against her shoulder, but she was more surprised by the sudden gentleness of Ruffnut's voice. "Don't let the degree thing eat at you. Don't let anything eat at you, because here is lesson four: I want this to be the place you come to relax, not be stressed out. If I do find you stressed out, I'll do something to change it. If that means a water gun war on the twenty second floor during a power outage, then so be it, but I'm gonna do it."

Astrid let a smile cross her face at the complete absurdity of the statement. Ruffnut saw the smile and grinned herself. "We did that three years ago when Hiccup was freaking out about a project."

Astrid let an undignified guffaw escape her before she could stop it. "Are you serious?" She laughed. Ruffnut nodded in remembrance.

"Oh yeah. We had to use bottles of water to fill the guns though, seeing as the taps weren't on. We probably cleaned up at least two or three hundred bottles the next day. As well as having to dry the whole floor. Good times. Anyway, my point is that if you have problems, don't stress about them. If they're really that bad, then come talk to me and I'll try to help you."

The elevator stopped and Ruffnut walked out, immediately greeted by workers who were all dressed like they were going running. Ruff waved at them as they passed, throwing out a few words of greeting. As they walked, Astrid could see that this is what she knew.

The rooms and small gyms they passed looked exactly like the ones that were in hospitals for physical therapy. She saw people holding onto rails as they tried to stand up, whereas others were taking hobbling steps, all under the sharp eye of therapists. Some were walking along with their patients, while others were just showing them the basics of what they needed to do to begin rehab.

She was startled when they opened the door to another room and saw two people kissing against the table, their hands roaming _very_ suggestively. Ruffnut rolled here eyes and immediately barged in, barking at them. The two people stood sheepishly as she spoke sternly to them, in a voice Astrid couldn't hear. When she was done, they both scurried out, and Ruffnut beckoned her to come in.

"Sorry about that," She growled, glaring at the door. "They heard that I was in a meeting and decided it might be a good time for a quickie. If that's up your alley, then just don't get caught." Astrid tinged red at the thought of a random hookup. She didn't do stuff like that.

"That's not up my alley. For sure." She assured her boss. Of course, she'd had boyfriends before, back when their family was still four and not three. She wasn't a virgin, and she wasn't a rookie in the world of dating either, but she didn't do friends with benefits.

"Well, it's a bit worse, considering that this is your room. Your office is on the twenty fifth, but this is your therapy room. So I would recommend getting every surface in here bleached. This room has been empty for a while and I guarantee that there's at least fifty rounds of ten minutes in heaven that I haven't stopped." Ruffnut gestured around, and Astrid blinked in realization. This was _her_ room. Her personal room that she would be working in for the foreseeable future. The counters that ran all the way around were clean and shiny with black granite. White tiles covered half of the floor, while the other half was carpeted in crisp, fluffy white carpet. That could quite possibly have fluids on it.

From one end to the other, her room was probably sixty feet long, and maybe half of that wide. Along the dividing line between carpet and tile there were two sets of rails, one on carpet and one on tile. There were several chairs spread around, both leather seats and normal steel stools.

Hooks hung from the walls above her counters, and in those hooks sat exercise balls, all different sizes and colors. In the left back corner, there was a treadmill and a cable weight machine. Beside those was a rack of small plastic hand weights, as well as weighted medicine balls. In the opposite corner was a set of stairs, three steps up and then three steps down, one flight carpet and the other wood.

There was a bed that she could tell was on an electronic lift so that it could be lowered for people to easily sit down on it. She ran her hand along the mattress of it, knowing that it would something that she used all the time.

Ruffnut went over and jumped onto the counter, settling in and crossing her legs in front of her. "Right. This is going to be your home like, eight hundred and thirty two point sevem percent of the time. You have an office, but I doubt you'll ever actually spend time in it. I haven't been in my own office in probably a month."

Astrid turned a curious look on her, smirking at the very specific number that her boss had somehow come up with. "Where do you spend your downtime then?"

"Bugging Tuffnut. Bugging Gobber. Bugging Fishlegs. Bugging Hiccup. I'm usually bugging someone when I'm not with patients."

"You don't bug Snotlout?" Astrid asked.

Ruffnut let out a snort. "Not a chance. Lesson five: Stay away from Snotlout. The other heads, we can deal with him because he can't do anything to us. You saw today how arrogant he is about being a member of the board. He will use that against you if you give him a chance. If he's being inappropriate, come to one of us, but…lesson six: if he _tries_ anything, you go straight to Hiccup with it."

If he tries anything...was Ruffnut telling her that Snotlout would attempt to use his position to…what, blackmail her into sleeping with him or something? She frowned as she recalled the wink and smile that she had gotten before the meeting earlier. "What if…what if Hiccup isn't here?" Astrid asked hesitantly.

Ruffnut gave her a smirk. "How many floors are in this building?" She asked pointedly. Astrid cocked an eyebrow at the question. What was that supposed to mean?

"Forty?" It was more of a question than an answer, and Astrid cursed how indecisive she sounded.

"Forty two. I'm sure you noticed that lone button above all the others?" Astrid nodded. "Never press it. That goes up to floor forty one. The top two floors of this building are his penthouse. So, to answer your question, he's always here, because he _lives_ here." That did make her feel a lot better. Even though she was unsure of what to expect from Snotlout, it was nice to know that someone was literally always here who could help her.

She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Is that…normal? For a CEO to live in his headquarters?"

Ruffnut grinned at her and waved an arm around the room. "Only at DragonTech."

Astrid grinned at the moniker, that she'd heard several times already. "Oh, of course!"

Ruffnut matched her grin. "So, no worries there. Lesson seven: you have to understand Hiccup."

"Understand him?" Astrid wondered, jumped up and sitting on the soft bed. Ruffnut nodded.

"Hiccup has three modes; Hiccup, and then boss Hiccup. He said that you guys met at the mall? Then you met Hiccup. In the meeting, when he threatened Snotlout? That was boss Hiccup. Now, boss Hiccup can also be angry boss Hiccup, which means someone's ass is about to be toasted." Astrid thought back to it, hiding her thoughts. That was only a flash of boss Hiccup? She thought he had been boss Hiccup the whole time.

"What's the third mode?" She asked lightly, thinking it would be something like awkward Hiccup, or drunk Hiccup, but…it wasn't nearly so nice if Ruffnut's suddenly frightened expression said anything.

"The mode you never want to see. Owner and CEO Hiccup. It's the mode that would send lawyers running to their mama's." Her voice was low, her eyes set on the floor of the room. "I can't even describe it, other than the fact that it is downright terrifying. If he gets there, Hiccup is probably about to do something drastic." Astrid thought back to the meeting, as well as back to the mall. How could a guy who seemed so mild manner and nice have a side like that?

On top of that, how could she avoid it? Being a regular employee, she couldn't imagine many situations in which she and Hiccup would interact, but still. What if she did something to set him off? Even if the others liked her, if he went off, nobody could overrule him.

"Uh…how do I avoid that, I guess?" Ruffnut let out a sardonic laugh, shaking her head.

"Astrid, you would have to do something incredibly cruel, evil, stupid, or a combination of, to get Hiccup even _close_ to being that angry. I'm just being honest with you, but in the ten years that Hiccup has run this company, it's happened only once. All I can tell you about it is that Hiccup got pissed off with something someone from another company did, which was incredibly evil and stupid, went and bought them out then shut down the company, laying off everyone. Don't ask me to tell you anymore about it because I'll have nightmares for a month and have to sleep with Tuffnut."

Despite the strange image of the two tattooed, thrill seeking twins cuddling in a bed, Astrid found it extremely funny and exploded with laughter. Ruffnut gave her a scowl, rolling her eyes. After a minute though, the head smirked at the thought. When she was done cackling, Astrid paused.

"Wait, Hiccup has run DragonTech for ten years? How old is he?" She asked, suddenly curious. He had seemed to be her age when they met at the mall, but now she wasn't sure. She was twenty two, but if he was her age, then he would have been running this entire company since he was twelve, and she doubted that.

"Actually, we're pretty young in the business world. Gobber and Valka are in their fifties, but they're the oldest members of the board. Me and Tuffnut are twenty eight, Fishlegs is thirty, and Snotlout is thirty one. Hiccup is twenty nine."

Wow. So he had been running an international company since he was nineteen years old. That was incredibly impressive to her, seeing as her primary worry when she was nineteen was getting to class on time. They talked a bit more about that when another employee came running in. Ruffnut fixed him with a cocked eyebrow.

"What the hell are you running for?" She asked. He held up an envelope.

"Hiccup asked that I deliver this to," He turned away from Ruffnut to the blonde. "You." He handed Astrid the envelope and left quickly after. Astrid felt the thickness and weight of it, and she wondered what it was. Ruffnut didn't say anything, instead choosing to inspect her fingers.

Astrid opened it and had to resist the urge to scream. Inside, looking crisp and perfect, as if they had just come from the bank, were hundred dollar bills. A thick layer of them. Next to them was a little yellow sticky note that had small handwriting on it.

 _Sorry I couldn't give you more, this is all I had on me._ It was in the same wavy handwriting that she had seen on the pad back at the meeting. She closed it, knowing that she had never seen that much money in a single place at a single time. She folded the envelope in half and shoved it into her back pocket. It felt so bulky back there, and she wasn't used to it.

"Well, as fun as this has been, Astrid, we need to get your schedule made." Ruffnut said, jumping off the counter and heading out the room, the blonde girl on her heels. She didn't even ask what was in the envelope.

* * *

The drive home literally could not have gone by fast enough. Astrid was bursting at the seams to tell her mom and brother about all the news things that would be happening in their life. She had a _salary_. A yearly salary, instead of the hourly job at the restaurant. Speaking of which, she had to call Johann. She could fucking _call_ Johann!

The phone was still a bit foreign to her, but just as Gobber said, she was learning it quickly. She knew how to at least open the damn thing, just as well as put contacts in and make phone calls. She also learned how to text. Yeah, the stupid auto-correct function was a pain in the ass, but she would get over it.

Rock Hill, the town that she usually drove through in a tired blur after a long day of work, whipped past her in a blue of excitement. It was three o'clock, which meant that Luke should be home too! She was going to take them out to a nice dinner, and everything was going to be great!

She had counted the money that Hiccup had loaned her. When she was finished, she again realized that she was heading into a world where money was of little concern. He had said that the money in the envelope was all he had on him. It was thee thousand bucks! Literally, the people in there, or the heads at least, were throwing around the kind of money that she only dreamed about.

She pulled onto her own street, and before long the driveway of the house. To her expected glee, her mom's car was there, and at this time of day that meant Luke was too. She got out and slammed the car door, not caring for how loud it was, and ran to the door.

She burst through, all smiles, and hurried into the kitchen. Mom was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine, while Luke was tinkering around with what looked like a birdhouse. "Hey guys!" she greeted them in excitement.

Both of them already knew, without a doubt, that it had gone well. She wouldn't be nearly as happy if it hadn't. Astrid came and flopped down next to her mother, hugging her and blowing a kiss at Luke.

"How did it go, sis?" He asked. She took a few moments to calm herself.

"I got it." Her mother screamed, pulling Astrid into a crushing hug while Luke chanted her name. She grinned along with them, knowing that all her hard work over the past two years was going to pay off. She fought for them, and now it looked like she was going to start winning.

It was a happy moment for them. With all the tragedy and hardship they had to face since dad died and Luke lost his foot, it was a moment that they could sit there and be truly happy. They had stuck together as a family, helping each other through the hard times, always keeping their heads up and looking to the future.

"Hang on! Hang on!" She said, holding her hands out. Both of the quieted, but smiles were still wide. "Luke, you remember the guy at the mall? Harry?" Her brother nodded in excitement.

"Let me guess! He works there and put in good word for you?" He chattered breathlessly. Astrid shook her head strongly. Her mother didn't say anything, but they had told her about the nice guy who ruined their food and then bought them more with his own money.

"No. Not even close. Luke, Mom, Harry Haddock, the guy we met at the mall, is the _Owner and CEO of DragonTech Robotics!_ " She squealed. Under any other circumstance, she would be embarrassed by how much squealing she was going, but she didn't care.

"That's insane!" Luke ran his hands through his hair, blowing out a whistle. "So, you're like, friends with the big boss, huh?"

Astrid didn't exactly know how to respond to that. Hiccup had actually done a huge bit for her so far. She wasn't sure if other employees had so much done for them when they were hired; she would have to ask Ruffnut how often those salary meetings were held. "I don't know if we're friends, but he did help out even more!"

She took the envelope out and held it in her hand. "He knows that we're tight on money, so he gave me an advance on my first paycheck." She dropped it on the table, knowing that the weight of it was drawing her mom and brothers eyes.

"Dear…how much money did he give you?" She asked hesitantly, staring at the ominous shape.

"Enough for me to take you guys to a fancy dinner! Come on, I'll tell you all about it when we're there!"

* * *

The dinner was fancy, and it was wonderful. They had been able to go out to eat at restaurants so seldom in their lives that it really didn't matter where they went, it would be awesome. They chose a steakhouse, and the entire affair lasted almost three hours. Astrid spent most of it telling them stories of what she saw and experienced at DragonTech, and that was just her first day.

She told them about her being sent back to school as a condition for employment, as well as the fact that DragonTech would be paying for all of it. She told them about how unique Ruffnut and Tuffnut are, and she even got to tell them funny stories about the split names. Luke almost choked on his steak when she told them about the apparent water gun war that Ruffnut had started back in the day.

When they were finished up dessert, Astrid finally decided to let them in on her salary. It was something that she had chosen to not talk about just yet, with the goal of making it the cherry on top of the cake at the end of it all. And it was. Her mom was speechless for a good ten minutes, and Luke was in a similar state, but he was able to form words. Even if they were only the same one over and over. Wow.

By the end of the night, Astrid had shown them her new laptop and cell phone, as well as made plans to get them each one when she could afford it. Now that it was possible, she wanted to be able to call them and speak to them whenever she could. It would be awhile, but she would get those phones for them. If she was going to be away more often, she wanted to be able to pick up the phone and dial, and have them right there.

Hoffersons stuck together. It's always been that way. It was that way when they had a bit of money. It was that way when they had no money. Just because it now looked like they were going to have a lot of money, that still wouldn't change.

XXX

"You going to try and convince me that she's just another person?" Frank posed, sitting on the couch in Hiccups penthouse. Rachel and Trevor sat there as well, the three people having come up with the express intent on finding out what was so special about Astrid. They had done meetings and such for new employees before, but this one seemed to be a lot more than a simple meeting.

Hiccup only hummed at his friend as he stared out his windows, a glass of soda in his hand, three ice cubes chinking against the glass as he swished it.

"I talked with her a lot. She's great, yeah, but still. You gave her three grand. _Cash_. I saw the account." Rachel commented, leaning forward on the leather seat, her elbows on her knees. Hiccup turned around, sending her an annoyed glance.

"I gave you and Trevor a lot more." He muttered.

She nodded in understanding. "Nobody is questioning that, but it wasn't this big secret as to why Tuff and I needed money. You helped us out, exactly like you're doing for her. All we're asking is why." Hiccup growled to himself as he turned his gaze back on the sunset over Charlotte. He had a feeling that his behavior would raise some questions.

"Does it have to do with the mysterious reason for her not finishing her degree?" Frank wondered, ever the analytical one, always searching for the logic and reasons behind everything. It was one of the things that made him a priceless and valuable member of the board. That, and he was one of Hiccups closest friends. His entire board were his friends. Except for Scott.

He sighed, swishing the glass of soda in his hand one last time before drinking it all and clicking the glass onto a glass counter next to him. "At some point in the recent past, her brother was in an accident. He lost his right foot. She dropped out so she could get a job and start paying those bills."

"Makes sense," Rachel interjected. "She told me that her father died two years ago, and he used to be the breadwinner. Maybe it was the same accident." Hiccup nodded, seeing how this information matched up with what he knew. It made sense, and the timing was correct as well. She had gone through maybe a year and a half of college, which would put her at about twenty years old. Her resume said that she was twenty two now.

Now that the timeline was becoming apparent, he saw more into what her home life may be like. The whole reason he had specifically gone looking for her resume was because of what he believed she had. He was taking a huge risk, but a calculated one. If her father died, and then her brother lost his foot, then of course the bills would be crippling.

However, instead of taking out loans and continuing on at college, potentially ignoring her family and the financial situation, she dropped out and took a job as a waitress. He was taking the risk that she did that because she was responsible, and willing to make sacrifices for those who she loved. While he didn't expressly think that DragonTech Robotics would take the place of her family in her heart, he liked those traits.

He was banking on her being headstrong and stubborn, someone who was willing to go the extra mile to accomplish their goals, no matter how hard the task. He remembered his own accident, and the bills it incurred. Of course, he had no issues paying it, but his own injury was extremely similar to Luke's. Just the opposite foot.

If Astrid had dropped out of school, and then taken a job as a waitress to try and tackle a bill that would be close to a hundred thousand dollars, while still supporting her family, then he wanted her to be one of his employees. Without money struggles, who knows how much of a contribution she could be with that drive and motivation?

* * *

 **So I hope you all enjoyed! I would assume that the next update will come Wednesday night, because Thursday morning is gonna be a no go this week again. Reviews so much appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello readers! Sorry this is getting posted kinda late. I forgot to throw it up this morning. Anyhow, thank you all for your reviews, especially to SilverMidnightFury who read and reviewed all 5 chapters! Thank you!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Next update will be next Thursday!**

 **XXX**

The first week passed by quickly for Astrid, who was enjoying her job to the fullest extent. There was little to no extreme stress associated with it, and the things that she did every day were simple. Primarily, her job consisted of watching Ruffnut see patients who had come in for rehab and therapy and recording how she did things. Then, it was her job to do the correct paperwork on her laptop and get it all printed out, with treatment and exercise plans included.

Ruffnut was, contrary to her appearance, an excellent teacher. She explained everything in terms that Astrid could understand, not overly complicating things. There were still times when Astrid wouldn't understand, but her boss was patient with her and explained things as best she could. Most of the time patients were more than happy to play as live action models for Astrid, but there were a few who would grumble and grouse to the point that Ruffnut suggested hanging out in her own room until the patient left.

Coworkers, surprisingly, came in to greet her and welcome her to the DragonTech family. While not everyone she worked with came to talk to her, those who had rooms in the immediate vicinity of hers were super friendly.

The second week passed even faster, as it was the first time that Ruffnut let her take a patient of her own. Of course, it was a simple matter of rehabbing a torn hamstring, but still, it was a step. Now, not to be confused; in no way was Astrid the one in charge here. Ruffnut was with her every single step, giving advice and fully prepared to take over if Astrid messed up. In a way, this was almost like the classes that she was already enrolled for at UNCC. Ruffnut often gave her notebooks to read, and articles to study. Of course, Astrid soaked them up quickly, memorizing all she could.

Her first paycheck went into her bank account during that second week, and Astrid nearly fainted when she saw how much money she got, even though there was a big chunk taken out due to the advance Hiccup gave her. It was more than enough to pay all of the bills, as well as take a large chunk from the medical, on top of leaving her with a pretty substantial sum left over.

Her first month went by as quick as it came. True to what was said, she got every Friday off and spent it with her mom and Luke. It was nice, but Ruffnut did send things home with her, like articles and cases to study, which Astrid could do in front of the TV. Their TV was a new thing in the house, and the first Saturday they had it, it was an all-day movie marathon. They still ate at home mostly, only having gone out to eat once or twice since that fateful Friday. At the beginning of June, Luke got out for summer break, making it easier for Astrid to spend more time with him.

Her second paycheck came in, and then she had enough money to go to the store and buy her mom and brother cell phones. It took her a good deal of time to understand how the concept of monthly costs worked when it came to data plans and all that, but when all was said and done, their family was finally interconnected.

Luke had absolutely no trouble using his. Apparently one of his friends at school had one, and Luke had pretty much learned the use of a smart phone vicariously through his buddy. It took her mother a few comical hours to figure it out, and she was still uncertain about it, but she would soon learn. Hoffersons were adaptable people.

In all the time that she had been there, she'd only laid eyes on Hiccup once more. Apparently, the CEO was almost exclusively occupied on his ten floors of labs and rarely came down past floor thirty one. Ruffnut told her that it wasn't anything about arrogance or superiority; she maintained that his work ethic is what kept DragonTech on the cutting edge of commercial and private robotics.

Her second month came and ended, with her only getting more and more competent under Ruff's attentive, and sometimes hilariously unorthodox tutelage. August came and then so did the tests. All of a sudden, Ruffnut came to her with test after test, evaluating her knowledge. Every time she passed a test on a subject matter, Ruffnut allowed her to take patients who were in need of that specific therapy.

The summer was over. She had gone three months at work with DragonTech Robotics, three months of the best work she had ever experienced. Her bank account was overflowing, the bills were an afterthought and new things in the house appeared on a weekly basis. Mom had new clothes and a fully stocked kitchen. Luke had things like video games and other such stuff to occupy his time with, and best of all, Astrid was comfortable. For the first time since dad died, she could say that she was comfortable with how her family was living.

Finally, when it seemed like no time at all had gone by, it was time for her to start her classes at UNCC. It was Friday, and her first class was Monday. She sat at a small desk in her therapy room, absently running through her appointment list and cross referencing it with her class times. She was technically full time, but she would be commuting, not spending terribly large amounts of time on campus.

She was writing down who she needed to give to Ruffnut to cover for her. Her boss had assured her that she would take over any appointments that fell within the times that Astrid would be at class, something that Astrid was very appreciative of. A short talk with Tuffnut, whom often found his way to her therapy room for no reason at all, revealed that Ruffnut so enjoyed teaching Astrid that she spent an apparently heinous amount of time devising new methods of testing her skills. He admitted that he was a bit jealous, because some of those things were truly extreme, and Astrid took a few moments to thank whoever managed to keep Ruffnut from hauling such things out.

The internet was so new to her that she often found herself cruising it at random, seeing what new wonders it kept hidden. This morning, she stumbled onto a webpage that was full of kitten pictures. They were so cute! She was so engrossed with it that she didn't notice the dark suit that walked into her room.

"Excuse me, but I seem to have lost my way."

"What were you looking fo-" She stopped as soon as she looked up and into Hiccup's emerald eyes. She hadn't seen him in so long that she actually let her mouth fall open in surprise. She wasn't sure what it was, but now that she looked carefully…he was _handsome_.

When she'd seem him at the mall that day, she'd thought he was cute. When she'd seen him at the meeting, she'd thought he was intimidating and even a bit…otherworldly. When she'd seen him a few weeks ago, it was barely for a second. She'd just caught sight of him as he went into the elevator with Ruffnut. Now though, when it was simply casual, he was as handsome as they come.

His hair had seemingly never changed lengths, or he kept it cut like that on purpose. It looked like it should be messy sprawl, but somehow, it didn't look messy on him. His jawline's dark stubble was still neatly trimmed and taken care of. He wore a casual black suit with an open front, revealing a red button up shirt. Normal black dress pants and shiny black shoes pulled it all together.

"DragonTech to Astrid…" She snapped out of her thoughts, fumbling on her words as she realized that the CEO was standing in her room, talking to her.

"H-hey Hiccup. Hey, hey…how are you?" She hated how nervous she sounded. She was so nervous that she forgot to close out the kitten webpage that she had been looking at.

"Not too bad. I looked out the window this morning, the sun is shining, the streets are packed, and the company is doing great. I came down to the twenty third floor thinking all is right with the world, only to find my newest therapist drooling over kitten pictures."

Her stomach twisted as her eyes widened. She slowly turned around in her chair, coming face to face with an adorable white kitty sitting in a bowl, yawning widely.

She sheepishly looked back at Hiccup, who had an amused eyebrow cocked at her. "Sorry…" She mumbled, glumly closing the webpage out, leaving her appointment schedule on the screen. When she turned back, Hiccup was smiling at her.

"I used to try and take picture of Toothless like that. He was too big to be cute though, so it never worked out." Astrid grimaced inwardly as she thought about the giant dog. Other than that first day, she hadn't seen him again, but still. It wasn't anything personal, but she just didn't like dogs. Just then, the very same demonic creature bounded into the room, and Astrid froze in her chair, her eyes wide.

"Toothless! Don't break anything!" Hiccup barked at the huge dog. "Come here."

At his words, Toothless came up and sat on his haunches next to the CEO, his tongue lolling out and his snout angled up, looking at Hiccup's face. The man scratched the dog affectionately behind the ears. "Good Toothless."

Astrid kept her wide eyes on the dog. "Why do you call him Toothless?" She grated out, trying her hardest to be polite while still retaining her composure.

Without remotely noticing her discomfort, Hiccup looked down at his dog. "Bear those teeth, Toothless." When the dog did so, in an admittedly cute looking smile, rows of pearly white teeth shone back at her. Astrid drew back in obvious question, and Hiccup smirked. He reached in and took hold of the dogs bottom teeth.

A moment later, still holding Toothless' "teeth", Hiccup smiled sadly. "Toothless was abused and thrown to the streets. Due to the things that happened to him, his teeth had to be removed. I built him a full set of prosthetic teeth. He uh…he hates when I take them out, so if you'll excuse me…" Astrid actually felt a pang of sorrow for the dog when he whined at the teeth and gleefully opened his mouth for Hiccup to put the teeth back in. When the teeth were back in, the dog bounded about happily, his tail wagging furiously.

Astrid found that she wasn't super scared of him anymore, and in a way…she wanted to pet him. For a dog, he seemed nice enough, even though he was still almost as big as she was. "Ready for your classes?" She blinked several times, suddenly surprised that he knew she started this week. Of course he knew she started this week. He was paying for the stupid things. She nodded confidently.

"Yeah. Ruffnut has been putting me through the wringer with those tests of hers, so I think I'm prepared." Hiccup let a quick burst of laughter out.

"Rachel is a physical genius. If you've been meeting her expectations, you should have no trouble with a college course. Her degrees qualify her as a professor anyway." She noticed, oddly, that he was the first one to call her Rachel and not Ruffnut. Maybe, as CEO, he didn't need to use split names. Not like anyone could question him about anything. However, something else caught her attention first.

"Degrees? Plural?" She wondered. She had never actually thought to ask Ruffnut what training she had to be a therapist here. It had just never crossed her mind.

"Yep. A BS and MS in Biology, as well as a BA in Exercise Science. Took seven years, but she got them." She already respected her boss and mentor greatly, but now it just seemed that Ruff was…godly. She looked like a hippie, but she had three degrees!

"Well, that just makes me even more confident!" She declared, letting a victorious smirk cross her face. It really did too. While she was eagerly learning from Ruff, she had begun to think that she was getting the shorthand version of things, but maybe Ruff had been giving her the academic treatment.

"Good, good…" Hiccup trailed off for a moment, and she saw something flash across his features. She couldn't tell if it was indecision or hesitation, but it was gone as soon as it arrived. "How is the family?"

She nodded in affirmation. "They're good. Luke is having some trouble in school already, which stinks, but he'll pull through." Her brother had started school again, and it was his first year in high school. A tough time for anyone, but even worse for him because of the wheelchair and missing foot. He still had some friends from middle school who supported him, but other high schoolers were vicious.

"Trouble?" Hiccup suddenly looked stormy, and Astrid didn't know if she had hit a sore spot. She shrugged mirthlessly, knowing there was very little she could do for him right now.

"Freshman in high school. The other kids make fun of him because he needs his wheelchair, and then they treat him like a circus act because he only has one foot…" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Hiccup turned on his heel and wordlessly stormed from the room. She sat there in fear, wondering exactly what she had just done. Toothless watched Hiccup go with a short whine, but her remained in her room.

She had just pissed off the big boss of her company, something she had been specifically warned not to do. On top of that, she had been caught looking at kitten pictures online. That was stupid. She let a groan go, imagining how she had just started digging herself a hole with her boss. Or rather, her bosses boss. She looked over at the dog who was now laying down on the tiles, watching her.

"What did I do, Toothless?"

* * *

When she got home that evening, Astrid could already see that Luke had another bad day. Since their fortunate turn around with her new job, he was often all smiles and chatty. Now though, he was sitting quietly in front of the TV, his arms lying motionless in his lap. It was the stance her often took when he was upset or depressed and one that she had seen countless times.

Mom was in the kitchen, reading a magazine while something bubbled on the stove. Astrid walked in quietly, wrapping her arms around her mother. "Another bad day?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes…" Mom sighed, looking over at him. Astrid pursed her lips, feeling frustration run through her. She loved her brother and would do anything for him, but she couldn't be at school with him.

"What was it this time?" She asked through her teeth. Mom looked up at her, a strained smile on her face.

"They told him that school dances are not handicap accessible…so unnecessary…" She trailed off angrily, looking at her son. Astrid put her keys down, knowing that she needed to speak with him. Sometimes, it was better to just let him sort through his annoyance himself, but this time she would try to talk him through.

"Hey bud," She said softly, coming to sit on her knees next to his chair. She reached into his lap and took one of his hands in her own, squeezing it affectionately. "How you doing?"

He shrugged weakly. "Fine, I guess. I try not to let it get to me, but today was different." She squeezed his hand again.

"Why was it different?" She asked gently, not wanting to sound questioning of him. She understood how things were sometimes with people and them not being able to relate to his problem. Mom came over quietly, carrying three cups of soda. Soda was a new luxury of theirs, and even though it was packed full of sugar, they loved it.

He shrugged again, accepting the cup from his mother's hand. "Thanks, mom…" He took a short drink before talking again. "Normally, it's just them making fun of me, which I can deal with. I don't care what they say most of the time because they just don't get it. But today…today was them telling me that I can't _do_ something…and they're right."

Astrid stomach plummeted as she heard the sound of pure defeat in his voice. The worst part of it for her was that there was actually nothing she could say to him about it. He can't dance. Not in a wheelchair, he can't. Her frown must have been noticed by her brother, because he spoke to her fears.

"I know there is no point in telling me that they're wrong. I know, sis. I get it. I just need to get over it right now." He still sounded heartbroken as he rolled away, probably to the stairs. Astrid remained on her knees, chewing on her lip, hating herself for not being able to do more for him.

With all the other bills paid on time, as well as the medical bill falling at a much faster rate, Astrid had even started to put money away into a new savings account. One that she wouldn't touch. It was slow going, but the amount in there was growing. Maybe, in a few months, she might have enough to be able to afford a prosthetic for him. Maybe.

In the corner of the room, what used to be the bill desk, sat her work desk. It was no longer home to a stack of unpaid and delinquent bills, but instead it was where she spent time each night studying Ruff's booklets and coordinating treatment plans. She got out her laptop and opened it, connecting automatically to their impressive wireless internet.

Some people, those who had 401k's and fat savings accounts would say that she had been careless with her first months of pay. That she was making stupid decisions. She used a large portion of that money for the family, buying her mom and Luke cell phones, as well as new appliances for the kitchen. She bought them a TV and they even had a fast modem for internet. Their wardrobes had never been so expansive.

Yeah, maybe she had gone overboard with giving her mom and brother the things that they had to do without for so long, but she didn't regret it. They had survived on almost nothing for two years. She would make them comfortable now that she could. Besides, after taxes and bills she was keeping about seven thousand dollars a month. She could now afford to splurge for her mom and brother's comfort, and she wouldn't hesitate to do it.

She settled down to finish what little work she could before dinner. Tomorrow was Saturday, so at least she got to spend the day with mom and Luke. Hopefully it would get her brothers mind off his torturers. Her only consolation was that now, even if school sucked, Luke could come home and enjoy himself in what ways were possible.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Mom and Astrid spoke quietly about her preparation for her classes and how those would affect her time at home during the week. Luke was silent the whole time, only handing short answers to the questions they offered him. It was very telling, because he was usually very chatty at the table. He wasn't over the things those bastards had said to him today.

Maybe he would be good in the morning. Maybe he wouldn't, but there was no way to know. It was only when Astrid was climbing the stairs to go to her own bed did something break in him. She was passing his door when she caught it. He was sitting on the side of his bed staring at the wheelchair with a disdainful look on his face.

"Everything alright, Luke?" She asked quietly. Mom was already in bed, so she didn't want to wake her. Like nodded slightly before looking up at her.

"Sis…you…you know I'm grateful, right?" She blinked in confusion and concern. What was he trying to say with that? She entered the room and swung the door closed, shutting it with a soft thud. She pushed the chair aside and got down on her knees in front of him.

"Of course I do, Luke. What's up?" She took both his hands in hers, silently urging him to tell her what was wrong.

A grimace crossed his face as he looked back at the chair. "I…I just want someone to vent to…" He mumbled.

"I'm here for you, Luke." She reassured him, squeezing both his hands.

He looked down into his lap for a minute before a strangely horrible laugh came out. "I absolutely hate that chair. I put on a brave face all the time. I try to make the best of my situation. I try to keep up hope, and I smile, for you and mom. I know how hard it's been, how much of a struggle it is for you to support us all…and all I can do is sit in that _fucking_ chair and smile. Smile and act like anything I can do will help. I know it won't. That I'm just a burden, only holding you ba-" He never finished.

Astrid didn't even mind the stunned expression on his face as his now free hand came to feel his stinging cheek. How could he say, even begin to think something like that? She had never once seen him in such a way. When he had his accident, she never blamed him for losing his foot. _Never_. Her expression was stormy as she held a finger in front of his face to silence the unmistakable attempt at saying something.

"Don't you _ever_ say that again, Luke," She hissed dangerously. "You are my brother, and you will _never_ be a burden to me. You will _never_ be a burden to mom. We love you, no matter how many limbs you lose. There is nothing that we wouldn't do for you. You keep that in mind. I know the kids are ass holes. They don't know the strength it takes to get out of bed every day. You're better than them. If not a better dancer, you're a better person."

His stunned expression fell away, and soon Astrid was looking at the bright face of her little brother again. Tired face, but bright face. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her neck. Her own arms went around his waist as they hugged each other tightly. When the hug ended, she pecked him on the temple.

"Now, sleep well Luke. We got the whole day tomorrow to be with each other." She stood up to leave, stopping to watch him get into bed. It would be tough, but they would always get through, as long as they had each other.

* * *

Their Saturday was a blast of a day, and it ended all too quickly for Astrid's taste. Sunday was slow at work, and before she knew it, she was walking across the UNCC campus towards the building where her first class was going to be. Ruffnut was just as confident in her readiness as Hiccup had mentioned. The women essentially told Astrid that she should be embarrassed if she has trouble at this point.

While Astrid took it as lightly as she could, she silently didn't want to disappoint her mentor and boss. To her somewhat relief, she didn't hear from Hiccup again. It was relieving because he had said nothing to her about whatever happened Friday, but it was nerve-racking because she didn't _know_ what happened Friday. Ruffnut had not said anything about it either.

She had to admit, while she was walking, that UNCC had a beautiful, modern looking campus. It was a lot nicer than the little school she took her first forty five credits at. The building that most of her classes would be in was a large gym that had classrooms all throughout the halls ringing the large open space. Thankfully, Astrid had come here last week already to find her classrooms and learn the general layout of the campus.

She found her classroom quickly and sat down, noting that there were a few students already there. They all looked about her age, if not a few younger. She had a few courses under her belt already, so she was starting with an upper level course. Luckily for her, she took almost all of her general education requirements, and all those courses transferred over perfectly, so she only had to worry about degree specific courses now.

She sat in the second row, quietly minding her own business, patiently waiting for the class to begin. The students who wandered in knew each other, for the most part, and the class quickly separated into groups that were obviously friends. She didn't mind that. It's not like she lived here on campus, or even intended to spend a lot of time here anyway.

A girl approached her row, and Astrid gave her a quick smile as she scooted her chair in so the girl could get by. The girl moved behind her and sat right next to her. "Thanks. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

Astrid gave her another quick smile. "Yes. I transferred in this semester."

"Cool!" The girl said in excitement. "I'm Heather!" She offered a bright smile, and Astrid returned it, unsure of where this girl was so cheery from.

"Astrid."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews very much appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello readers! I happily present to you chapter 7 of OaD!**

 **In regards to the guest, whom I do believe is not even reading this story anymore and decided to post a scathing review about my summary, do be my guest and enjoy your shitty life. If the two mouse clicks involved with clicking on my story, reading the first chapter and deciding you don't like it and clicking the back button are too hard, then I truly pity you sir or ma'am. You appeared to be perfectly able to leave a ridiculously pointless review, in all caps, informing me how to write my summary.**

 **If you do indeed read this, then do me a favor and make an account and write something. With your apparent expertise, I would love to read your work.**

 **Well…seeing that nonsense is dealt with, I will address my other readers. If you feel that something is lacking with my story, then** ** _please_** **point it out, but do so with an account so you and I can have** ** _meaningful_** **dialogue on how I can improve. I live only to get better at writing and produce better material for you all.**

 **Blah…having to write stuff like that in an AN is really unpleasant…so, to make up for it, I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **This will be the first chapter in which Hiccup flexes his CEO muscles. Please let me know if you think I wrote it in a believable way. I would really appreciate that.**

XXX

Weeks slipped past. Astrid's classes were a breeze. Her grades were perfect, and she barely had to try. Ruffnut's lessons were indeed different than the ones her professors attempted, but Astrid quickly discovered that the things she had learned from Ruff made everything else simple. While most of her classmates understood, or didn't in many cases, the theoretical application of the things they were learning, Astrid knew the practical side.

On more than a few occasions, she had watched with suppressed surprise as she immediately grasped a new concept while her class struggled, and it was because with those few concepts, she had already applied them in a real life setting. It made her truly appreciate what Ruff had taught her.

She wished that everything was going so swimmingly at work. While work itself was going fine, great even, but it was Hiccup that was worrying. Since that Friday with the kitten pictures, she hadn't seen him again, and she'd been hearing that he was being more and more reclusive. Ruffnut even complained about it when she came to Astrid's room. While she wasn't under constant twenty four hour watch anymore, Astrid was happy to see that Ruffnut often came to her room just to talk, or as she said it, hang out.

The reason for this, apparently, was common knowledge to everyone on Ruffnuts floors except Astrid. She'd finally heard it from one of the other therapists, an older man. "You're Ruffnut's favorite, by far." He had told her.

While she was flattered by it, it had caused a bit of a social shift. While she was on speaking terms with most of her coworkers before, many had taken it personally that Ruffnut liked Astrid so much. She had heard, through a friend who had somehow become her inside source to the more discontent of her colleagues, that they believed Astrid was too close to management. It didn't help when it became common knowledge that Astrid didn't have a degree yet.

She wasn't sure how it took almost four and a half months for them to hear about it, but the effect was instantaneous. Now, the older people who were obviously somewhat traditional in academia were raising hell about her position. Apparently, her being a full therapist for DragonTech was not fair to them.

Never mind that she had gotten glowing reports back from the patients that she had handled herself. Everything she did had Ruffnuts seal of approval on it, but still, a lot of them were her work _alone_ , where the therapy was concerned. Just the fact that she hadn't gone to school automatically made her unfit for her job. Today, to her chagrin, was looking to be pretty bad.

She hadn't even made it to her office when one of those discontents made a very public, very audible announcement that she had slept her way to her position. Even now, two hours later, she was still dealing with it. Her room door was closed and locked, but there were people outside it, and the worst part? Her patients couldn't get in to see her. Three had to be rescheduled already today.

Ruffnut was in there with her, and even with their boss telling them to get lost, those people outside refused. Ruff had been so adamant with them, that the people had begun saying that Astrid and Ruffnut were the ones sleeping together!

"If that was your goal, Astrid, then I'm sorry. I swing that way sometimes, but not with coworkers," Ruffnut joked, sitting on the counter. Astrid smirked, letting out a quick laugh.

"I don't swing that way at all." She remarked. "What can you do about this?" She asked, looking up. Ruffnut shook her head with a pissed off look on her face.

"Nothing. DragonTech policy. Since I became part of the accusations, I can't make them fuck off. Something Hiccup came up with to prevent people with managerial status from getting away with shit." Even as a member of the board, Ruffnut had no way to help them get on with their days.

"How many companies allow their employees to shit talk the directors!?" Astrid tossed her hand up angrily, even though she couldn't decide who to be angrier with. Herself, Hiccup and his stupid policy, or her coworkers for being so ridiculous.

"Only at DragonTech," Ruffnut sighed, shrugging. In many cases, that little catchphrase was a positive thing. In this case…not so much.

"So what's going to happen?" Astrid demanded. "I can't see patients like this!"

Ruffnut sent her an annoyed glare, chewing on her lip. "I know that, killer, but there isn't shit I can do about it. Fishlegs said he would try, but that could take forever with his fucking need for analysis and statistics. The only way it could end, right now is if-" As she talked, the sound from outside disappeared. Completely. Except for a single voice that Astrid recognized.

Ruffnut smirked. "That happened." There was a hard banging on her door, and Ruffnut went and unlocked it. The several people who had been making the fuss marched in, suddenly quiet and not nearly so angry. Hiccup stormed in after them, slamming the door behind him, a single arm stiff with his hand rammed into a pocket. Ruffnut came to stand next to her, her smirk having disappeared.

"This is the angry version of boss Hiccup. People are about to get fired…" She whispered. Standing in a small line were four people, and Astrid immediately recognized the very vocal woman in the middle of the group. The three others were older than Astrid, yeah, but they didn't look to be much past thirty-five.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hiccup demanded, and Astrid winced. His voice was hard and commanding, booming out so thoroughly from his slender frame, and she immediately hoped he wouldn't turn and start interrogating her. She would probably melt under his eyes, and that voice rattled her nerves.

"That tramp doesn't have the qualifications to be a therapist!" The vocal older woman shouted, pointing. "We want her investigated!"

"Investigated for what?" Hiccup's reply was short and blunt. She noticed how he didn't even bother speaking on the first sentence.

"She had to have slept with someone to get here! No way was she hired normally! I have a doctorate, while she has nothing, and we have the same position!" Astrid glared at the woman, and wasn't surprised to see the woman glaring back at her. While she was certain that her hiring was unorthodox, Astrid was angry that the woman even suggested such a thing. She wasn't a whore!

"Astrid. Have anything to say?" Hiccup didn't turn around as he spoke. She hardened her eyes, glaring at the people who would dare think that she would whore herself out to get a job.

"They stood outside my door for two hours, and I had to reschedule three patients. All of which were immensely pissed off about the time changes." Astrid explained, wanting them to know exactly what she was trying to do while they were being idiots outside her door. Hiccup nodded to himself for a second before turning to his board member.

"Ruffnut. You have patient files for the last three months?"

"Oh yeah. Filed and organized by therapist and date."

"Fetch me the last three months completed patients for Astrid Hofferson and Helga Sinclair. Make sure Astrid's involve patients that you had no role with." Hiccup ordered. Ruffnut wasted not a single second; she was out of the door immediately. She watched, with satisfaction, as Helga's face paled. Hiccup said nothing more, to any of them, until one of the others started mumbling.

"What was that?" Hiccup's voice echoed out, his head turned only slightly to glare at the man who had said them. He looked up, his face blank as he stared at the CEO. He managed to drum up the courage to speak louder.

"I-I have a patient…" He said lowly.

"Really? You have a patient?" Hiccup's voice was getting louder. "You stood outside this room, accusing somebody of being a whore for her job for two hours, turning away three patients of _hers_ , and now you want to leave because you have a patient!? What about her patients, who now have to come back at a later date because of you four and your _idiocy_!?" He thundered. Even Astrid winced at the volume.

Looking at his frame, you wouldn't think that Hiccup could yell like that, but it was in his lungs somewhere. Astrid knew that he was angry before, but now, he was furious. She couldn't see his face, but she could imagine that it wasn't its normal shade. At that moment, Ruffnut walked back in, a stack of files in her hand. She handed them to Hiccup, then came to stand next to Astrid again.

Before starting to talk, Hiccup went to the hall door and called over the first therapist he saw. "Mr. Jones has a patient soon. Please take the appointment for me." He closed the door again with a bang, coming to stand in front of them all again.

"As you know, Ruffnut implemented a rating scale for her therapists, to gauge their performance. This rating goes from one to ten. Tens are considered perfect performance. The patients themselves bestow this rating at the end of their treatment." Astrid, suddenly, knew what he was doing. Ruffnut had told her about the rating system, but she said it was something that Astrid didn't have to worry about.

Hiccup looked at the files, then stepped back to her desk, placing the stack on it before splitting them into two piles. She saw the name on the tongue of the right set. _Astrid Hofferson/Killer._ Those were her files, meaning the left set were Helga's. She looked back up, and suddenly she could see Helga trembling in her shoes.

Hiccup was glaring at her as he lifted each folder to his eyes with his right hand. "Nine…seven...six… _three_ …six." He threw the files on the floor in front of Helga, sending the papers from within them everywhere. "Your ratings are _disgusting_." He spat the words as he reached down to the desk to pick up Astrid's files, looking at each one.

"Ten. Ten. Ten. Eight. Ten. Nine." She said a silent thanks as he replaced her files to the desk, instead of throwing those all over the floor as well. "So, Helga. Tell me how a therapist who doesn't deserve her job has higher ratings than you?" His voice was calm and collected, but it was that dangerous calm. The kind of calm blanket that had a tiger underneath it.

"S-she…I…I c-ca-"

"Get your things and get out of my building." Hiccup interrupted coldly. "All of you." He waved a hand at the four people who had been interrupted her work. They stared at him, mouths open in shock. Somewhere inside her, Astrid felt a pang of sympathy for them. She wasn't sure where it came from, but she knew that if Hiccup had said those same words to her, she would be heartbroken.

They stood there for another minute before Hiccup spoke again. "Get...out." Each word was bitten off, enunciated, and stressed. The four shuffled out glumly, their heads down and silent. The door closed behind the last of them, and Hiccup let go of a long sigh. He bent down and collected the files that had been scattered at his feet. Weirdly...he left his hand in his pocket and did that with only one hand.

"I'm sorry, Rachel; could you reorganize these and file them again?" His voice, or at least the one he had before was gone. Now he just sounded tired. Tired and depressed. Ruffnut went forward and took them, grabbing Astrid's at the same time and leaving the room. In a flash, it was just Hiccup and Astrid, and the silence extended horribly.

She had no idea what he was waiting for. His anger seemed to have subsided almost completely, but he still had not turned around to face her. He was simply staring at the opposite wall, his hands slid partially into his pockets. This was the first time that she actually got to just look at him. The way the black jacket hung on his frame suggested that he wasn't as skinny as she had once assumed, and that maybe there was a more constructed person beneath. His shoulders were broad, but they were slumping visibly. He stood more on his right leg, leaving much less weight to rest on the left.

The silence was literally starting to kill her. She wasn't sure why it was so quiet, or why he wasn't saying anything. He was the boss. He just fired four people. He should be saying something. When another minute or two passed and nothing came out, she took a chance.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry…I didn't know I was such a risk…" She mumbled. It was quiet enough in the room that every word sounded like it reverberated off the walls.

"No, Astrid," He turned around, and again she found herself lost in his eyes. "The only risk I have heard of, and _seen_ , regarding you is a propensity for kitten pictures." She blushed at his words, knowing that Ruffnut had to have told him stories. She had decided that kitten pictures were her favorite thing in the world, and Ruffnut had caught her so many times grinning at them. Not to mention that Hiccup himself had caught her once.

He walked up to her desk calmly, picking up a small rubber ball that Astrid used to help people with tendon rehab in the arm, squeezing it several times before staring at it, his eyes shining like he was doing a calculation in his head. "Helga Sinclair was a risk from the very moment that she was hired here. Previous employers sent me warnings regarding her arrogance, and how she often caused disturbances over small things. Up to today, she had honored the deal I struck with her."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow. "Deal?"

He nodded. "Yes. When she was hired, we talked about her issues, and struck a deal; as long as she did not cause a disturbance in my building and did her job, we would have no problems. She violated that agreement in two ways: she was clearly not doing her job, if her ratings are anything to go by, and she caused a disturbance." He placed the ball down onto her desk, sighing.

"I was fair. I looked past those things and still gave her a job. A chance to prove her previous employers wrong. She spat on that and disturbed my building and my employees. I won't stand for it. Ever." She knew that he was fair. That he was generous. She wouldn't be sitting in the chair she was if he wasn't. "No single employee in this company is more important than another. Yes, I and the other heads are an exception, but below us, nobody has immunity. If a floor lead and a janitor each did what Helga just did, I would fire them both. All my employees are important to me, and I will not tolerate any of my employees being cornered like you were."

"It's not always that way in the business world," Astrid mumbled, thinking about how much people here must love Hiccup. How fair he was. How generous. If everyone here had gotten even a similar treatment to what she'd gotten, then he did far more than most for them.

She looked up when he chuckled lightly. "Well, it's like the others like to say. Only at DragonTech." Magically, both of them laughed simultaneously at the constantly uttered moniker. Ruffnut said it to her almost every day, and sometimes, she was just randomly text it to her late at night or in the middle of the day for no apparent reason.

"Are you okay?" She jerked at the question, looking up with an open mouth, as if wondering if he was talking to her. His voice was soft and strained, almost like he was in pain. He didn't look like it, but she knew as well as anyone that pain could be hidden inside as well. She looked around the room and, finding nobody, decided that he wasn't crazy enough to talk to himself.

She nodded, exaggerating it just a little. "Yeah. My uh…my patients weren't happy…" They really weren't. When she called them to reschedule, they had been furious with her. She wasn't sure how good her ratings were going to be for their files.

"Give me their names," He said, taking out a phone and putting it on the desk. "I will call them and explain what happened." He then stood there, as if waiting for something. She looked between him and the phone several times before, starting to say something.

"Uh…how…"

"Just say the patient's name." She pulled up the information for the three patients, looking at him curiously. He pulled up his wrist, tapping something on his watch. The phone lit up, the screen black other than the red dragon head symbol that she knew was Hiccups' personal seal. Thing. Whatever.

"Alright."

"Roxanna Ritchi, Julian King, and Tamora Calhoun." Astrid said, reading the names off the screen. She looked down at the phone and was surprised to see all three names pop up, and their phone numbers along with them. Hiccup picked it up and slid it into the inside pocket of his jacket. In the motion, his sleeve was pulled up, and Astrid's eyes immediately noticed an angry, bleeding expanse of wrist.

"Hiccup! What is that?!" She exclaimed, jumping around her desk and grabbing his left arm, yanking the sleeve up, gasping when she saw it. The burn was new, colored an angry red and streaking further up his arm to the elbow. It was long and thin, as if someone had just slapped him with a scalding hot bull whip, a single scorching lash. In a few places, the burn widened to almost an inch across. There were no blisters, thankfully, but she noticed how the white shirt that he was wearing underneath the jacket, while clean on the parts they could see, was stained red up his sleeve. He'd been bleeding recently, and a lot.

She ghosted her fingers over it, jerking back when she heard a pained grunt. She shushed him gently, like she would any patient, before her brain finally caught up to her body. She had gone over and grabbed her bosses' boss' injured arm and torn his sleeve up, looking at a burn that he was quite clearly attempting to keep a secret. When she looked up at him, she expected anger of some type. She expected him to be staring at her as if asking her what the fuck she was she thinking, grabbing him like that.

Instead, his face was turned to the side, and she could see his pursed lips locked in a facial expression she had seen many a time from stubborn patients while working here. Trying to conceal pain. He wasn't staring at her in anger, but he hadn't said anything about her stopping either.

"Hiccup, you have to get this looked at," She murmured, looking back over it. "This could get infected!" She, mindful now of exactly who she was talking to, offered no resistance when he gently extricated his arm from her inspection.

"It's nothing…" He turned to leave, but Astrid wasn't having it. He had done plenty for her already, and she had to do something to repay the favor. She hurried around and planted herself between him and the door. It was quite a contrasting scene. She stood there, a simple blueish green tee and navy blue tracksuit pants, along with white trainers, her arms crossed defiantly on her chest.

That ensemble stood in front of a taller form, covered by a black suit jacket. The jacket was open in the front, revealing a white silk dress shirt with two buttons undone by the collar. Black dress pants and shiny black shoes contrasted with her white tiled floor. A thick black smart watch sat on his right wrist. They were products of different worlds, different upbringings, and different status. He should be the more powerful. He _was_ the more powerful, but she was still standing in his way.

"You're getting that looked at. Right now." She said, somehow finding confidence hidden away somewhere. She almost broke and ran for cover when a flash of irritation crossed his eyes, but she was either very brave or too stupid to take it seriously.

"I have calls to make, Astrid. On _your_ behalf." He muttered. She thought about what had just taken place in her room, and then something occurred to her. He had used his right arm for everything while in there. Everything major at least. His left had barely been used. It clicked in her brain, and suddenly, she had ammunition again. Scary ammunition that she didn't want to believe.

"Hiccup…lift your left arm…" She said slowly, seeking to test her theory. His irritated eyes morphed into a full scowl. When nothing happened, her eyes widened, and fear started gnawing at her insides. Not fear at what he would do if she kept blocking him, but fear at his burn. "You…you can't lift your arm, can you?"

When she had looked at the burn earlier, she had been holding his arm up. Maybe that's why he was gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain; perhaps it hurt to hold it up, even if he wasn't trying to. Hiccup growled in frustration, turning around and taking a few agitated steps, running a hand-his right hand-through his hair.

Astrid stayed resolutely in her place in front of the door, believing that if she moved he would escape, and she would lose whatever power position she had just assumed. He stopped pacing and glared at her, his left arm still motionless at his side, his hand barely slipped into pocket. He bit his lip again and looked away from her.

"…No." The word were soft. Chewed on and spit out in annoyance, yes, but soft. He began pacing again right after he said them, as if he was embarrassed about admitting that he couldn't move an entire limb. Astrid calmly approached him, stretching out her arms when she got close enough. Seeing as she couldn't, or rather didn't want to, touch his left arm, she ended up stepping in front of him and placing her hands on his chest.

"Hiccup, stop. Please…" Her hands were resting on the thin silk of his dress shirt, and she could feel how warm his body was. It send a strange tingle through her hands, and she ignored it in favor of treating that burn. She pushed him until he was sitting on her medical bed.

"I…I've had this happen before…" He mumbled. "Feeling usually comes back after an hour or two, and then full function another hour after that…I can still flex my hand…" She pushed the sleeve of his shirt and jacket up gently, wincing as she felt each subtle jerk as pain undoubtedly lanced through the arm. Her right hand, which had been holding his wrist, was suddenly covered as Hiccup's hand closed over it.

She met his eyes, their deep emerald enchanting her again. He had been irritated earlier, but now…he look thankful. "What is this?" She asked softly, hating herself for breaking eye contact. When she walked away to go to her desk, Hiccup's grip on her hand tightened, almost like he didn't want her to leave his touch.

Their eyes met each other again, and Astrid's stomach twisted anxiously. His hand was warm, yet rough from something that she couldn't place. His grip was weak and shaky, but enough to make her stop in her tracks. They said nothing, and the silence stretched until it was better that it ended. She softly pulled her hand from his, and she noted how his eyes fell when they parted.

Quickly, she strode to her desk and to her drawer of ointments. Just as habit, she had stored a bunch of ointments that she could use if something happened in here, and burn ointment was one of those things. While she was digging through the drawer, she heard the ring of Hiccups phone.

He got it with his uninjured arm and answered it. "Hiccup." The answer was quick and strong, all evidence of his small moment of weakness completely gone and replaced by the lord of this building. She continued to dig and finally found the ointment, which had somehow been shoved to the back and bottom of the large drawer.

"Tell him to wait for me! Don't do anything!" Hiccup yelled suddenly, startling her. He jumped from the bed and ran from the room. Astrid swore and threw the ointment down and ran after, quickly getting hot on his heels.

"Hiccup, wait!" She yelled as she set off after him. She reached the hallway, but immediately slid out on the smooth tile floors, crashing to a heap, and several people came to make sure she was alright. She looked up, managing to get a view through the bodies of concerned coworkers, watching as Hiccup's form disappeared around the corner toward the stairs.

What was that? What was that moment, when he refused to let go of her hand? Even as she got up from the floor, Ruffnut shooing away the people fussing over her, she still felt the warmth of his hand on her skin.

XXX

 **I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews super appreciated!**

 **The injury Hiccup sustained is a real thing, and it will be described in a later chapter. If you would like an explanation of it now however, feel free to PM me and I will be happy to tell you what it is!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello readers! So, this is the first upload of a double! This was originally a single long chapter, but I didn't want to ruin my word count average. That's reasonably important to me. Anyway, you will see how a double upload is required here.**

 **Now, this could probably be called an unfair double, because the second upload will only go up FRIDAY AFTERNOON.**

 **Thank you so much to all those of you who reviewed, and I know I messaged a few of you who were irresistibly curious as to Hiccups injury. For those of you who are content to wait, it will be explained in Fridays update.**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

She arrived early to class, wanting to sit with her own thoughts for a while before sitting through the hour and fifteen minutes of boring stuff that she already knew. She hated that she felt like that, but she was quite literally bored to tears most days, because Ruffnut had taught her much of the things she was learning in this class. Even now, while she was taking the class, Ruff was still teaching her all sorts of things.

Her mind was still preoccupied with Hiccup and…other things. She wanted to tell herself that it had only to do with that burn on his arm, and the fact that she had no idea if he'd ever gotten it looked at appropriately. She wanted to believe that that was the only concern she had regarding that day, last week. As much as she tried to tell herself that, it wasn't the truth.

She was still thinking about the other moments. Her hands on his chest, making him stop pacing. The feeling off his heartbeat beneath them. His hand closing around hers, and the warmth that she felt from it, the tingle of something that didn't quite make sense to her at the time. She had noticed before how handsome he was, but that was always at a distance. That day…she was right in front of him. _Touching_ him.

Up until then, Hiccup had always been that man who she knew but didn't know. She met him at the mall, but she didn't know that he was the man at the head of DragonTech Robotics. Then, when she met him as the owner and CEO, he seemed to be further from her. He was always there. Every time she stepped into the elevator, that lonely button atop all the others stared back at her, and she knew that it was the same button, at least in all the elevators, that took Hiccup to his home every day.

Now, he was still the CEO. Still the guy who ruled over everything. The one who was always there, but only at a distance, seen as he walks into the elevator, or at the head of a meeting. Even when he stood in her room, commenting on her kitten pictures or firing out of line employees, he was still the man from afar. The man nobody dared cross. The one who controlled everything from the throne of the fortieth floor.

Then he wasn't. Then he was Hiccup, and at the same time not Hiccup. Then he was Harry, the human, up close and personal. Before, he was like this symbol, a representation of riches and power that nobody could touch but everyone could aspire to. Then he wasn't. Then he was human. A man, who made mistakes and burned himself. The man that felt pain. The man that she touched. The man who held onto her hand one second longer than necessary.

What did that mean? Why was the simply act of him holding her hand so…disturbing? Not disturbing in a disgusting way, but disturbing to the kind of peace that she had made with herself. Maybe she had accidentally met him at the mall. Maybe he had been especially generous the day she was hired. However, once she was, she was no more important than Helga Sinclair. She was another worker who only breathed to empower the DragonTech hive.

At least, that's what she had decided for herself. His visit before her classes started had been simple to explain away. He wanted to check on his investment, and make sure that he wasn't wasting his time and money on her. It's what any sane employer would do, and something that didn't mean anything more.

She wasn't special. That was the general consensus she had reached regarding her unorthodox entry into DragonTech. Hiccup wasn't paying any more attention to her than he was any of his other employees. She wasn't worth it. Yeah, maybe he was paying for her to get a degree and all that, but she'd heard plenty of stories from her coworkers that he'd done the same for a few of them.

So, she had made peace with that. She wasn't special, and she would work just as hard as everyone else did to earn her keep. That was all shaken with that hand hold. It was something so simple. A man who was in pain held her hand a bit longer than was necessary. But that extra second changed _everything_. It changed the very careful structure she had built around herself. Keep your head down, work hard, and don't try to make waves.

That's what she had told herself, but suddenly, she wasn't so sure. In that moment, Hiccup wasn't her boss's boss. He wasn't the billionaire. He wasn't the man who ran an international company and literally lived on top of his headquarters and ate using solid gold utensils. He was just…Hiccup. The man. The man who needed a soothing touch.

In that moment, she realized something. Being the man who he was, people probably treated Hiccup completely different than she had that day. They probably walked on egg shells around him, trying their best to not annoy him. At the same time, he probably hears more lies and petty flattery than anyone else from people who try to curry favor with him.

She'd come to the decision that her interaction with him that day might be some of the first normal interaction he'd gotten in a while. She had no clue how the other heads treated him or acted around him, but still. Chances were that he never got any honesty from people. It was probably tiring to the extreme.

"You look like an idiot." She looked up with a sarcastically objective face, giving Heather a hurt stare.

"Well, fuck me for being number one in the class." She said stupidly, and the two girls shared a light laugh. She and Heather had come into some strange friendship in the month and a half that she'd been at school so far. They texted each other occasionally, and they often had small talks in class. All in all, Heather was always friendly, and more often than not she knew when to talk and when to leave Astrid alone.

The dark haired girl plopped down into her seat, strangely without her bags that she normally brought. "Seriously though, you look a bit messed up. Something on your mind?" Heather was honest and nice, and she had often given sound advice when Astrid had an issue, rather than sarcastic bullshit that many others would probably hand out.

Astrid sighed. "Nothing super big. Just…had some interaction with a guy, and I don't know what to make of it." She had kept her job at DragonTech a closely guarded secret from Heather, and the class in general. She never mentioned to them that she was working as a physical therapist already, and that's how she got perfect scores on pretty much everything. Why she did it was sort of…not really clear to her.

"Guys are confusing. I guess…if I were you, I would let it go for now and see if anything else happens." Once again, Heather didn't go into a whole shpeal, making herself out to be this great, wonderful dating expert. Sound advice, and Astrid was thankful for it.

"Thanks, Heather," She said, giving her a warm smile. "So, how are things?" She asked, wanting to change the subject away from her. Hiccup was causing her enough of a headache already, without being the center of conversation. Heather grinned widely, clapping her hands together.

"Don't you know what today is? It's field trip day!" She sounded like a girl in middle school right now, almost shaking with excitement. Astrid cocked a curious eyebrow at her, wondering what she was talking about. That would certainly explain why she has brought nothing with her to class today. However, she was still completely unaware of this. Even if the sound of the words 'field trip day' sounded ridiculously childish, she understood the meaning.

"Alright…when did we know about this?" She posed innocently, trepidation surging through her. How could she not know about this? Surely there would have been an email or at least an announcement in class that she would have read or heard!

"Oh, that class last week wh…oh…"

Astrid panicked. "Oh what?" She asked frantically, trying to not look overly concerned with this. It was a damn trip that they class was taking somewhere. Why was she so worried about this?

"You weren't here that day. Shit! I knew I had been forgetting something! I meant to text you and tell you!" Heather slapped her palm to her forehead, and the motion would have been comical in other circumstances. "Sorry! It's not like we're going far though. Just into the city to see some therapists on the job."

Astrid relaxed, which she should have been the whole time. If she would get out of this boredom and do something fun for a change, then it would be fine. She was probably more concerned that there was an assignment or something similar that she had been unaware of. She wondered, with not just a little irritation, why the professor had never emailed her about it. If she wasn't in class that day, would it have not made sense to do that? Geez, she didn't even email the class listserve about it.

"That sounds like fun," Astrid commented lightly, still avoiding the fact that, technically, she was a therapist who was on the job when she wasn't sitting in these classes. Why wasn't she telling anyone about this again?

Heather practically bounced in her seat. "I know! And DragonTech is this super big company with this big tower and all that! I researched it an-"

"Did you say DragonTech?" Astrid interrupted with a sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. She had been only barely listening to the girls raving, but as soon as the association of an old Norse myth and the shortened slang version of a word that referred to shit they used to make other shit easier came together in her brain, she had to make sure she had heard correctly.

"Yeah! Isn't it exciting? Dr. Parr said that they actually have a pretty large physical therapy department, both for regular appointments and for their prosthetic patients! My _god_ , it's going to be _so_ cool!" Heather continued to gush about the ins and outs of DragonTech Robotics, which she had apparently researched well into the night, several times since the announcement had been made.

While she spewed forth fact and assumptions about DragonTech, Astrid found herself in the distinctly uncomfortable position of _knowing_ what was fact and what was fiction. "I know that they're international, and that the company is easily one of the richest in the world."

 _Fact_.

"I saw on a discussion board that, if you get hired, you get a fancy company car and all that, and you get access to the _entire_ company's bank account!"

 _False. Exceptionally false._

"I read on CN2's website that their robotics division is headed by the company CEO. He's got a weird name too. For whatever reason, they call him Hiccup. Weird, right?"

 _Yes and no. His name is Harry, and he does in fact lead the robotics division. Not that I've ever seen it._

"That same webpage said that the physical therapy department is led by Rachel Thorston! Can you believe it! She's a _legend_ in the physical therapy world, known as one of the best!"

 _She spends most of her day with me_. _Usually making spitballs out of my cotton swabs._

"The site said that she's only twenty eight, but I can't believe that. How could she be so young and be so famous?"

 _She'll be twenty nine in a few months._

"Then, it said in a blog that DragonTech doesn't have a classic Board of Directors or anything, and that the people who head each department also act as the board. How interesting is that?"

 _Fact. Not so interesting, actually._

"That same blog said that DragonTech also has some crazy secrets. Some guy came out and said that they have an artificial intelligence that runs the building for them. Crazy, right?"

 _Ridiculous. Valka runs that building. With an iron fist too._

"Can you imagine what it would be like to work there?!"

 _I don't have to. I do work there._

She wasn't always sure what exactly made her not want to reveal that she worked for DragonTech. Somehow, she felt like the knowledge was just unnecessary for anyone to know. It wasn't like she had this great obligation to tell them that she worked there. Under the apparently legendary Rachel Thorston. Who, despite being entirely deserving of her legendary status, looked like a hippie and very nearly acted the part. Bet none of these students were ready for that.

As she thought about it, it was going to be very, _very_ difficult to conceal her employment there if they indeed went to the therapy floors. Everyone knew her, and if even a single person said something to her about a patient, or forms that needed signing, she would be given away. She decided that she needed to run out and make a phone call.

"Excuse me, Heather. I have to go make a call." She said, getting up and leaving the classroom. She went out into the mostly abandoned gym, the only other people in here being some students who were playing basketball on one of the courts. She dialed Ruffnut's number and paced anxiously.

"Hey killer." Ruffnut's sole nickname for Astrid was used enough now that Astrid didn't even get annoyed by it. It was singular to Ruffnut as well, and the realization of that had completely convinced Astrid that she was in fact Ruffnut's favorite.

"I have a problem, and I need advice."

"Alright, well make it snappy. I got a group of students coming in from UNCC soon…where the fuck are you?" Ruffnut's voice sounded annoyed all of a sudden, and Astrid grew confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm in your room and you aren't here. Where are you?" Astrid chose to ignore pointing out to Ruffnut that she would have never called her if she were in the building. She'd done so once before, only for Ruffnut to wave it off carelessly. She said that she didn't think about stuff like that, seeing as Tuffnut had once called her when they were in the same _room_ for something. Astrid chose not to question further on that subject.

"I'm at UNCC!"

"Oh. What are you there for? You don't have class right now." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"I do have class right now, Ruffnut. It's _my_ class that's going to DragonTech!" She hissed, noticing another of her classmates meandering down towards their classroom and not wanting to be overheard.

"Really? Well that worked out pretty nicely." Ruffnut let go of a quick laugh as she said the words, and Astrid glared at the opposite wall of the gym, as if her boss would receive the glare through the buildings. If only she had that superpower…maybe Fishlegs could build her something like that…

"What does that mean?" She demanded.

"I was going to bring them to you, killer. You are the one leading their little trip into DragonTech." Astrid's mouth dried up as she closed her eyes, her free hand running over her face as flashes of torturing her boss in some medieval prison cell ran through her mind.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" She growled harshly. Why was it that nobody saw fit to tell her beforehand when shit like this was happening? First Dr. Parr neglected to email her about the trip in the first place, and now Ruffnut waits until the day of to tell her that she is actually leading the tour!

"I was about to. That's why I was in your room, doofus. Why is this such a problem, anyway?" Ruffnut's question deflated Astrid and her anger immediately. Why was it such a problem that she give a tour of the place she worked at? Oh yeah.

"I maybe kinda sorta haven't told anyone that I work there." She admitted to the phone, her voice trailing off as if she thought it was some great source of embarrassment. She was pacing around the floor, tracing the blue basketball lines with her eyes, as if they would magically conjure up some answer to her problem.

"What? Why not? You that embarrassed to work for us? Your happy ass can just not come back then."

Astrid paled and her heart leapt into her throat. "W-what? Ruff…I wa…I didn…"

"Hah. Screwing with you, killer, but seriously, why haven't you told anyone?"

Astrid threw her hand up in a sickening combo of stress, anger and uncertainty, bringing it back to grab a fistful of her hair. To anyone looking at her around the gym, it might look like she was arguing with a boyfriend, or as she had seen increasingly much on this campus, girlfriend. Not that she had an issue with people who preferred the same gender, it just something that she never saw in high school.

"I don't know! I never figured that I had an obligation to tell them that I in fact already have a job as a physical therapist for a major, international company! I mean, why am I leading the tour anyway!? What international company has a rookie employee lead a tour!?" She said sharply.

"You already know the answer to that killer."

Astrid rolled her eyes in yet more helpless frustration. "Only at DragonTech…" Yeah, it was probably nonsensical and stupid, but she had wanted to retain her privacy. Heather, who was the only one in there she would consider a close friend, didn't even know what kind of car Astrid drove.

"Well, too late for secrets, dude. They're gonna find out today. I don't know why you haven't said anything, but you know the second you guys walk through the doors downstairs, Valka's gonna blow your cover, whether you're leading the tour or not. Sorry about that. I guess I'll see you soon." The phone went dead and Astrid huffed in irritation. How could she managed to be landed with so many people who stuck her in awkward situations all the damn time?

She went back to the classroom to find it filling up with excited students, all chattering about this little trip. Dr. Parr, her professor, stood at the podium, flipping through some pages. Astrid meandered up to her, wanting to talk. She caught the sight of the red dragon head emblem of DragonTech on the first page and groaned inwardly.

"Um…Dr. Parr? Could I speak to you for a second? In private?" She asked nervously. She had no damn clue why she still sounded like the new kid in sixth grade who couldn't speak to anyone without sounding like an idiot whenever she spoke to her professors.

"Certainly, Astrid!" She gestured out into the hall and Astrid thankfully went out. When they were outside and a respectable distance from other ears, the stopped. "What can I do for you?"

"Uh…it's about the trip today. To DragonTech…"

"Oh, Astrid it's going to be _thrilling_! To see their facilities and how they're arranged, and maybe even see someone at work! It will be wonderful experience, priceless for when the job hunt begins!" Dr. Parr's eyes glittered with the excitement and adoration that Astrid had quickly learned the woman held for all ventures educational.

"About that…um…I know. I uh…I work at DragonTech." The words were out, and Astrid's fears were realized. Dr. Parr's face was contorted into a strange mix or disbelief and surprise, combined with a healthy dose of skepticism.

"Excuse me?" Her voice rang with that same skepticism, and it made Astrid wince.

"I work at DragonTech. As a physical therapist. I didn't know, but as it turns out…I'm leading the tour today. My boss only just told me." Suddenly, Astrid wished she had said something a long time ago. The way that the professor's face twisted in disbelief had her growing angry. This woman's face looked exactly like Helga Sinclair's had when she found out that Astrid had no degree.

"As amusing as that sounds, dear, please be serious. It is unreasonable to think that a company as illustrious as DragonTech would employ a student still earning her degree. It is nothing that I hold against you, but reality must be observed."

Astrid groaned before pulling out her phone. She held up the sleek device, screen facing her professor, and hit the button on the corner. The phone lit up, and her screen saver was still the red dragon emblem. The exact same on that was on the papers Parr had been flipping through a few seconds ago. "I got this phone when my employment started." She explained, not really going into anymore detail.

Parr tsked. "Astrid, come now. Showing me a screen saver for your cell phone is hardly proof of employment."

"I can call Rachel Thorston, right now, and have her tell you that I work there. She's my boss."

Parr hardly even entertained that suggestion. "Ridiculous. Put that away and come back into class and stop it with this nonsense." She turned around without any more words and went back to the class, leaving Astrid alone in the hall with the now burning inferno of rage burning in her chest.

She angrily stabbed at her phone and dialed Ruffnut's number again. "You tell 'em, killer?" The answer came after one ring.

"Told my professor. She thinks I'm fucking joking with her! Told me that I am being unreasonable to think that a company like DragonTech would hire someone who didn't have a degree!" Astrid hissed, making sure to keep her voice down lest other people hear her language.

"Gotta say, Astrid, you have managed to get the attention of all the no-degree haters. Anyway, I have an idea. Want to make a statement?" Astrid contemplated what exactly Ruff meant by a 'statement'. Whatever it was, she was mad enough that she felt like it. Dr. Parr was nice and all, but Astrid really wanted to shove her 'being reasonable' back down her throat.

"Sure, but how?"

"Just be ready. When you get here, _play along_. No stuttering!" The phone went dead, and Astrid cocked an eyebrow at it. Ruffnut's voice had gotten really excited there. Like a kid who staying up late past bedtime and her parents didn't know. Astrid was a little unsure about all this, not knowing what the eccentric head of the physical therapy floors was planning. Plus...when had she ever stuttered?

She went back to the classroom with a scowl on her face, one that she knew Dr. Parr noticed. In that moment, Astrid didn't care what Ruffnut did, as long as it made that bitchy professor eat her words. Heather hardly noticed, nattering away with one of their other classmates about how awesome it would be to go to this huge company. Astrid's scowl deepened. It wasn't _that_ exciting.

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 **Not a long note here. See you Friday Morning! Reviews and critiques always welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey readers! So sorry about this being late. I had a really, really late night last night, and I was so tired getting home from work today that I almost immediately fell asleep. Regardless, here is the second part of the double upload! I hope you enjoy!**

 **Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed for me! Now, seeing as some people have asked, I know that I personally responded to your reviews for the first and second chapters, but recently I have just not had the time to sit down and thoughtfully respond to you all. It's not that I don't care about them, because I most certainly do. If you would like to discuss the story in any greater capacity, then by all means you may PM me!**

 **AN: Seeing as I'm not sure if I have addressed this before, I will make this note. When you see the long line, like the one just below these words, then it is simply a split in time. When I put the three x's (XXX) That is a switch in POV. (IE: Astrid to Hiccup)**

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"Now, this invite was extended to us from Hiccup Haddock himself, the owner and CEO of DragonTech Robotics. I would like for you all to pay explicit attention to whomever will be taking us on our tour of the building so we do not waste this opportunity." Dr. Parr sounded like a mother talking to her kids. The class was standing outside the turning doors, getting ready to head inside to the lobby. Astrid still had it in the back of her mind that Ruffnut had come up with some scheme to make a statement and she was waiting for when it would come up. She didn't have to wait long.

When they all got into the lobby, the first thing Astrid saw was Ruffnut, decked out in cargo shorts and a tank top, showing off all her tattoos, leaning on the front desk. Valka was sitting there, chatting amiably with Ruff, smiling widely and wickedly, and Astrid assumed that she was being filled in on whatever plan Ruff had concocted. She pointed subtly, and Ruffnut turned around to greet the class. They all gathered in a semi-circle around her, Dr. Parr at the front, bursting with excitement.

Ruffnut smiled at all of them. "Hey guys. Welcome to DragonTech. How are you all doing today?" Mumbled greetings came out, along with a much louder one from their professor.

"Good. I'm Rachel Thorston, and I head the physical therapy department here." That declaration came with much louder murmurs and chatting as people no doubt stood in disbelief that this tattooed hippie was the famous therapist. Granted, Ruffnut had done her part to look pretty disheveled and very much _not_ professional. Even though she knew more about physical therapy than anyone in the room.

"So, you're going to take a trip through our physical therapy floors and see all the things we do, for normal patients as well as patients who have been fitted with DragonTech prosthetics and other similar robotics!" The class broke into applause at the words, and the chattering continued until Ruffnut clapped her hands.

"Well, you have your guide. Have a good tour!" She turned around to keep talking to Valka, and did for a few minutes. The class stood there, whispering to each other, and Dr. Parr looked flabbergasted. She held out a hand, asking for the class to be quiet. Astrid watched on curiously, wondering when exactly her involvement here was supposed to begin.

"Excuse me, Miss Thorston, but…who is our tour guide?" Ruffnut turned around, and Astrid let a smirk hit her lips. The face that Ruffnut was wearing was so brilliantly fabricated surprise that even she could have been convinced. If she wasn't in on this whole game, and she had a feeling that she was about to be center stage.

Ruffnut took a step to the right, and Dr. Parr turned with her to look at the students. Ruffnut was glaring straight at Astrid when she spoke. "Hey doofus!" Her bark echoed in the marble lobby, made worse by her silent class. If only they knew. If only, if only.

"What?!" Astrid shot back, looking irritable, even though she wanted to grin at this whole game. The students around Astrid spread away from her, like she was about to melt on the spot from Rachel Thorstons direct attention.

"You told me that you told her that I told you that you were leading the tour! What gives?!" She snapped, and Astrid gleefully saw Dr. Parr's eyes widen, and her classmates began murmuring, much louder now. She stepped forward, letting her irritated face back on.

"I did!"

Ruffnut scoffed harshly. "Apparently not! How could you have told her and she doesn't know? Don't lie to me!" The students around Astrid looked absolutely horrified at what was going on in front of them, and she wished she could see her professors face at this point.

Said professor stepped forward, touching Ruffnut gingerly. "Excuse me, Ms. Thorston, but she _did_ tel-"

Ruffnut held up a hand. "No she didn't! You do not know, and that means she didn't tell you! Do you want to keep your damn job!? You better stop lying to me!" She roared. Astrid had to fight, _so_ hard, to keep from bursting into laughter at the look of near terror that he classmates and professor all wore at this point.

Astrid crossed her arms angrily on her chest. "I'm not lying! You just have hearing problems!"

"Ain't no way!" Ruffnut snapped back. "Valka, you hearing this!? I want to fire her right now!?"

Valka slid her chair over a few feet so that she could see around Ruffnut. "Oh, hello Astrid!"

Ruffnut rounded on the secretary. "I said I want to fire her! Don't be nice!"

Valka glared back at the dreadlocked woman. "Oh shut up. We aren't firing Hiccup's favorite therapist!" At the mention of Hiccup and Astrid's status, the class fell deathly silent. Even Dr. Parr stood there, her mouth agape. Valka stood and pushed Ruffnut off to the side "By the way Astrid, I sent some new patient requests to your office! And Hiccup wants to speak with you!"

"What about?" Astrid asked, coming up to stand next to Ruffnut, who was making such a scene of being angry and brooding that it was making it really hard to play along. She was standing there, gnashing her teeth, both huffing loudly and mumbling to herself, staring daggers at the side of Astrid's head.

"His arm. He said the treatment you made for him is working, but he's getting some new pain. And he _insists_ that he needs some more ointment. The baby!" She said, speaking loud enough that everyone could hear her. She was looking down as if she was reading off a script, which she might have been.

Astrid did her best to improvise, because she'd never actually made a treatment for Hiccup. She imagined that either Ruffnut had done so at some point, or that making a treatment is exactly what she would be doing later on. "What kind of pain?" She asked. Valka have her an amused eyebrow cock.

"You are the therapist, dear, not me. What do you want me to tell him?" She grabbed her phone and held it in her hand, ready to dial. Ruffnut leaned over, close to her ear.

"This part is all you, killer." She whispered, almost too softly for even Astrid to hear. Somehow, she was able to do that without dropping her whole angry persona. Knowing that she had free reign of things from now, Astrid assumed an exaggerated thinking position before looking back up at Valka.

"Tell him to come to my room in about ten minutes. The class can meet him while I look at it." She said and excited words burst from behind her. Valka beckoned Astrid over, close enough so that the others couldn't hear.

"We convinced Hiccup to whine a bit for you. Take the chance to bully him a little!" Valka's grin was infectious, and Astrid was wearing it on her face a second later. She wondered who else Ruffnut had brought in on this little 'statement' of hers. There was no mistake; it was perfectly done, and the strange looks Astrid had been getting were completely worth it.

"Thanks!" Astrid said back in a whisper. She turned back to the class, and found that now, many of her classmates were looking at her with the same awe as they had Ruffnut. "Alright, let's go. You can all meet Hiccup upstairs. When you get to the elevators, go to the twenty third floor and wait in the foyer."

The class, led by a still silent Dr. Parr, went to the elevators and started cramming into them. Ruffnut watched them with a smirk. When the last of them were in a lift and gone, Ruffnut grinned victoriously. "Good enough?" She drawled, flicking her eyes over to Astrid.

"Perfect. Thanks Ruff. Where should I take them?" She had played her part well, but she actually didn't know what she was supposed to do with them. Ruffnut waved a hand carelessly.

"Therapy rooms, offices, patient lounges and exercise rooms. Talk a little bit about what goes on in each place and you'll be golden. The highlight is going to be watching you deal with Hiccup, which, by the way, I should warn you about. While most of this was a game, his pain isn't. Idiot burned the shit out of himself, and he's got some muscle pain. You know what you're doing, so take care of him. You can mess with him a bit, but be aware of what might be real pain and what might be a show." Astrid nodded quietly and went the elevators.

So he had gone to somebody about his arm. Ruffnut said nothing about her knowing that Astrid had already seen the burn, but she had an idea that the woman knew about it. A small flicker of… _something_ burned in her chest at the idea that he'd gone and listened to her. Of course, she could be entirely wrong and he was planning on going to Ruffnut anyway. She shook the thought off as the elevator came and went, and soon she was emerging from it, her class turning to look at her. She meandered through them to the front, where Dr. Parr stood.

"Alright! This way," She led them through the halls, pointing out various things to them, such as the very hastily cleaned patient lounge, as well as another room filled with ellipticals, treadmills and other cardio machines. Across the hall from that was a similar room filled with cable weight machines and hand weights. She answered questions happily as she went, and even stopped to speak to other people who worked in the various rooms.

After talking to them about the things that were done in those rooms they all packed into her own personal therapy room. "Astrid…this is _your_ room?" It was a boy from the class who had spoken. Astrid set down her things on her desk, smiling.

"Yeah. I spend about ninety five percent of my time in here. When patients come for treatment, they come straight here to me. No waiting room. Unless I'm with another patient when they get here." She turned on her computer and dug through her email, making note of some emails that needed her attention later on.

From the corner of her eye, she caught Heather's cocked eyebrow. She smiled suspiciously. "What?" Astrid asked.

"This is why you're so good in class. You've been learning from Rachel Thorston, haven't you?" Astrid could detect no malice or jealousy on the part of the dark haired girl. She'd noted some of the looks she'd been getting from a few classmates that were notably _not_ friendly, so she was glad at least someone wasn't harboring some ill feelings.

"For the first three months I was here, I wasn't allowed to do anything without her watching. I do my own patients now, but she's still teaching me stuff." Astrid explained. Just then, a tall, black suited form entered her room. She saw him and got up, walking over.

"Everyone, meet Hiccup Haddock. Owner and CEO of DragonTech Robotics." The class murmured greetings, even softer so than when they had met Ruffnut. Astrid looked up and saw him give them a far too white smile, so natural and perfect that it almost made her jealous that it was directed at them and not her. She pushed him to the medical bed, and the girl who had been sitting on it all but scrambled away. She heard a distinct gasp of air from behind her when she pushed Hiccup's jacket off his shoulders, and she had a suspicion that it was Heather who'd gasped.

"Thank you for having us here today, Mr. Haddock. Your building is quite impressive." Astrid, who had undone the buttons and begun to carefully push up his sleeve, rolled her eyes at the very polite tone of Dr. Parr's voice. While she would always respect the woman as her professor, she had lost a good bit of it with how easily she dismissed Astrid's claim earlier. The CEO noted her eye roll and smirked.

"Thank you for coming," Hiccups voice was very polite, and Astrid could tell from her few interactions with him that he was putting it on. For the most part, at least. She went to her desk to get her burn ointment, watching her class as slyly as she could. Hiccup gestured to her with his good arm. "I understand Astrid is a member of your class. I'm proud to say that she is one of my best."

"I am not!" She protested. Hiccup cocked an eyebrow at her, pointing humorously at the drawer that held her personal patient files. The students watched in fascination as she spoke like that to this giant CEO. If only they knew that she...well, _has_ spoken to him like this in the past, on those seldom occasions he was actually around.

"The ratings on those would say otherwise. Anyway…professor, how are your students liking the facilities?" He spoke with Dr. Parr and a few others students, and the questions got increasingly excitable and complicated. Heather even got to ask one, which turned out to be far funnier than Astrid would think.

The black haired girl looked like she might faint from being able to talk to him. From sharing words with him. Her legs shook, and her face had taken on a pale sheen. Literally. Astrid pushed her chair, sliding it over to the girl in sympathy. She fell into it, holding her head in her hands.

With her class watching, Astrid carefully started applying the ointment to the burned area around his forearm. In the last week, the burn itself had shrunk, at least in severity. Up towards his elbow, the burn was now just as severe as a two day old sunburn, but closest to his wrist was where the area still remained an angry red.

"Ow!" He yelped suddenly. Astrid, who knew she hadn't done a single thing to cause him pain, only shook her head.

"Stop being a baby." She chastised, giving him a slight smack on the side of the head. She was gratified to hear several members of her class laugh lightly. She also knew that was fake because, if she had seen anything from last week's incident, he would grit his teeth and bear it before saying anything.

"Need I remind you that I am your boss?" She looked up into his twinkling eyes and smirked.

"I can stop, _sir…_ " She pulled back from his arm, and she hoped beyond hope that he would play along. He waved his right hand, as if he was trying to reach around himself and grab a hold of her. She took a step back to get out of his reach.

"No, no, no, no, no don't go! It hurts! I need attention!" The class erupted into laughter around them, and even the stoic professor cracked a smile. Astrid grinned at him and began applying the ointment again. Hiccup shared in their laughter and even told a joke or two more to them. When she was finished with the ointment, Astrid stood him up and began testing the movement of his arm. Which is when his smile faded.

As she moved it, she watched his face closely, making note of what positions made him wince, relax, and which ones made him grit his teeth. The muscles in his forearm were tight, and it was pulling on the rest of the arm painfully. She knew that he burned himself, and he said it had happened before, but what was the nature of the burn?

She wanted to ask him, but was mindful of the class standing there. Pulling him over to her desk, she wrote up some exercises on a sheet of paper and handed them to him. "Twice a day, thirty minutes. If the pain continues, stop and come see me." He took the papers with a soft smile. She returned it gently, and before she could think to stop, her hand was moving.

She reached out gently and brushed her fingers against his left hand, slipping them into his palm. He was standing at an angle so that the rest of the class couldn't see what was happening. "I wish you wouldn't burn yourself…" She whispered. The moment last for a moment before she realizes what she's doing and yanks her hand away, hurrying around him to the class.

What was that? Why the hell did she do that? He was her CEO for fucks sake! Not even her boss, but her bosses boss, which makes it doubly, probably even triply worse! Hiccup turns as well and starts talking to the class again, asking if they want to hear some funny story or other. Astrid busies herself with her files, trying not to meet his eyes.

"Astrid…do you mind if we speak? Privately." She turned around to find Dr. Parr standing there, gesturing to the hallway. In a way, Astrid wanted to do something else to show that, in this building, she was in control. After a second of thought, she decided against it. She had already shown Dr. Parr plenty enough to make her eat her words from earlier at the campus.

She gave a quick nod and went outside, her professor following her. They went to an unoccupied room, where Dr. Parr took on a contemplative look. "I understand that I owe you an apology, Astrid. It was unfair of me to assume that you were lying when you mentioned that you have a position here."

"It's alright, Dr. Parr. You aren't the first person to think that I was joking." Astrid reassured her.

The professor smiled in relief. "If you don't mind me asking, Astrid, how _did_ you get a position here? Although I am indeed sorry for what I said earlier, the fact still remains. Your employment is a curiosity." Astrid's slim smile faded as thoughts of Hiccup surfaced again, but she hid it well from her professor.

She gestured back to the room, where Hiccup was entertaining the class with some wild story or the other. "Hiccup believes in giving people chances to be more than their circumstance. We met on accident, literally, and he found my resume in a database online."

Dr. Parr cocked an eyebrow, looking startlingly close to being suspicious. "Is that all?"

Astrid smiled firmly. "All that is your business." This time, it was Astrid who left the conversation without another word, heading back into her room and taking a seat at her desk. A few moments later, Dr. Parr walked in, looking perturbed. Good. She deserved it.

XXX

Hiccup left Astrid's' therapy room with a smile and a wave to the class of college students. The whole situation was something that he had been quite skeptical of when it had been proposed to him, but in the end he enjoyed their company.

He had just been getting out of a shower upstairs when his phone rang. Rachel told him that someone had insulted her favorite therapist, and all of board knew exactly who that was. Hiccup had heard the rumors circulating the building for the past few weeks that Astrid was Rachel's favorite, by a good margin, and felt a bit unnerved. Favoritism like that tends to cause problems, and it certainly did. After last week's run in with Helga Sinclair, it had been confirmed. He had been even more annoyed to discover that the nature of said insult was quite similar.

He had invited a class from the college to come and tour the building, as suggested by his public relations department. How fortuitous that it had been Astrid's class that had been chosen to come. So fortuitous in fact that he was certain Valka had some sort of role in it. The woman was the one directly in control of Astrid's life at UNCC and thus would have known who to extend an invite to. Ruffnut told him that Astrid told her professor about her employment here, and apparently said professor claimed that she was being ridiculous.

He had been irritated by Helga and her stupid arrogance when it came to this, and he originally thought his irritation came from the fact that it was an employee of his own that had said those things. When he heard that a professor had done the same thing to Astrid, he was surprisingly furious. Someone who believes themselves to be a professional educator should never simply cast off something one of their students tell them. Ever! It was that anger that made him go along with the scheme Rachel had come up with.

It was even more luck that he had fully intended to seek help with his arm. When he got the call about Sinclair, he was working on his special project. When he found that she was specifically bothering Astrid and went for his phone, he accidentally let two active sources get too close to each other. The electricity arced up his forearm, burning it painfully.

He was lucky. Flash burns were the lightest of electrical burns, and they didn't damage muscles. The worst that he got from this one was a pretty large area of torched skin, and this latent muscle pain that he was experiencing. He'd had flash burns before, so this was nothing new, but it was still irritating. Didn't help that his project was taking so long to complete.

In reality, it wasn't taking that long, as compared to others that he'd done. It was going too slow for _him_. He was making this for a very specific purpose, and he was racing against his own clock. The sheer amount of high tech work that was involved was literally pushing him to his limits. He spent nearly all day every day on it, and sometimes all night.

He wanted it finished, and soon. As soon as he could get it to the level where it would be safe, or at least safe _ish_ , for an experimental trial he would get it out. He already knew what he wanted to do with it, but it had to be safe. If he didn't have to do this, then he would never risk it, but it was the only way to go about this while still having an explanation that would make it legal if anyone asked.

Even with the power that being a billionaire CEO granted, he could not and would not put risk where it wasn't needed. He had to be fair, and he had to make sure that he played very carefully. Considering those involved, the whole situation could become volatile in a single moment. He was impatient with this, but he had to wait. Had to hope that it worked out.

As he walked to the elevator, he glanced down at his hand, and the memory of the last moment in there came back up. Last week, when Astrid talked him into showing her his burn, he had done something stupid. Grabbing her hand like that was foolish and had no thought behind it. It was illogical. It was a poor choice.

Yet…he had never felt so wonderful. Being the CEO of a major company, he usually got the fake treatment, from ninety eight percent of the people he knew. Up until six months ago, there were five people who treated him like a normal human being in his life. Who talked to him like he was another guy, not trying to earn his favor or win a promotion or get him to give them a healthy donation.

Gary, Frank, Trevor, Rachel and Veronica. They were the only people who treated him like a person. The only people who would ask him what he was truly feeling. The only people who had the password to his robotics labs, and the only people who knew the passcode to get into his penthouse. Every other person he spoke to on a regular basis was entirely dishonest with him, even if on a superficial level.

Now though…Astrid had changed that. When he had tried to leave and she planted herself in his way, he admitted that he was shocked. No single person had ever _dared_ to step in front of him like that. Nobody, other than Rachel. Maybe Rachel's stubbornness and insistence was rubbing off on Astrid, but it still surprised him. The blonde quickly discovered that he couldn't use his arm, which was no surprise actually. He'd gotten the burn literally an hour before that happened. He was still bleeding when he got to her room.

He thought then that maybe her concern was only spur of the moment. That she was just grateful for him defending her against Helga and her ridiculousness. Then…then the room happened, just now. There was no mistaking that the small touch to his hand in there was real. That was not spur of the moment, and her voice was so soft, the touch so gentle.

He had always been the guy who knew what to do. Always been the man with plan. Always looking seven steps ahead. He had no fucking clue what to do now, and it was a brand new feeling.

It made him feel alive.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews much appreciated!**

 **AN: The update schedule is changing to Wednesday Evenings. Permanently!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello readers! SO glad that everyone enjoyed the last chapter with Ruffnut's plan going into motion! You guys are just the best!**

 **Now, this will be the first Hiccup only chapter, and a few more people will be introduced here! Now, seeing as I don't think I've addressed this, Hiccup is the only one at DragonTech who does** ** _not_** **use split names. So, in review of the split names of the heads, just so nobody gets confused.**

 **Trevor – Tuffnut**

 **Rachel – Ruffnut**

 **Gary – Gobber**

 **Frank – Fishlegs**

 **Scott – Snotlout**

 **Veronica – Valka**

 **Also, there is a line in here that is in a different language. Do me a huge favor and do not translate it. I mean, you can if you want, but I would rather you don't. It's a plot point that I would like to keep secret. IF you do go ahead and translate it, keep its meaning to yourself!**

 **Enjoy!**

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He stepped out of the elevator on floor forty one into a single long hall. At the end were a set of opaque glass doors, both of them having the red dragon head on them. He got to the doors and waited for a moment.

" _Vær_ _sjenerøs_." He said, the Norwegian rolling off his tongue easily. His family's heritage had always been a big part of his life, just as his father had taught him. The Haddocks were descendant of Vikings that used to raid Europe from the shores of Norway in ships that were carved into the shape of dragons. When he was little, his father would always tell him stories of his ancestors, even when he was on business trips and busy.

Few people knew he could speak the old language fluently. Only Gary and Veronica knew more than simply that phrase. Rachel and Trevor had never seen fit to try and learn it, and he didn't blame them. His home consisted of a two story penthouse, in which everything was either black leather or glass. His floor was a simple tile, painted and stylized to look like gravel. It was meant to look like the gravelly beaches of Norway.

His entryway, just beyond the double opaque doors, was a single long hallway, each side covered with paintings and carvings from old Viking archaeological sites. Many of the paintings he had found in small archives, and a few he had commissioned himself, but his prize piece sat in that hallway. It was a large painting, six feet long while four feet tall. It depicted Vikings, clad in battle gear and wielding large axes and swords, doing battle with a great dragon.

At the beginning, people had told him that it was childish of him to have so much to do with dragons, but they did not understand. It wasn't that he believed his ancestors actually fought dragons, but instead, he placed value on their name. The tribe that his father had traced their lineage to were called, loosely, the _dragemenn_. In English, that translated closest to dragon men.

In old stories, both from other Viking tribes as well as European records, it had all to do with their armor and longboats, rather than mythical creatures. The dragemenn were the fiercest of raiders, and it was said that they fought like dragons whenever they touched land. Dragons were a part of his heritage, and he accepted it with open arms.

The entryway opened into a large living room where two sectional couch pieces wrapped around a carpet, in front of a large black rimmed TV screen. On small glass tables around the room, there were black and red vases holding Purple Heather's, the national flower of Norway. They were beautiful purple shoots, hardy and persistent, much like Vikings.

This led into a dining room with almost equal furnishing. A large stylized glass table with six chairs, as well as a fully stocked bar in the corner. Alcohol was something Hiccup didn't indulge in often, but the bar was insisted upon by the Thorston twins, so he had one put in anyway. It was easier to get himself a drink when he was having a bad day.

His kitchen was much the same, apart from a blackened granite counter top all around. He was a skilled cook, at least where soup and other simple meals were concerned. He could program a robot in an hour, yet he couldn't hope to cook eggs correctly. It would take him an hour to pop with the frustration of being unable to do it right. Cooking had never been something he was good at, having spent most of his life either eating gourmet food from a live in chef. His stairs spiraled up to a second floor, which only contained two rooms, one of which was his bedroom, the other one being a massive room that contained a small lap pool and a hot tub.

He sat down on his couch, placing the paper with instructions on the small glass coffee table in front of him. They were quite simple things to do, but he knew was positions would be painful, at least in the beginning. He carefully read through them, confident that Astrid wasn't still playing their game when she handed him these. Toothless, laying in the corner, huffed and came over to lay beside his feet. Hiccup reached down and gave his buddy a good scratch before starting his exercises.

As he expected, certain positions did hurt his arm, but he grit through the pain. He'd burned himself countless times, and that included electrical burns. No matter how careful he was, it was always a chance, and sometimes that chance decided to come out bad for him. While he sat there, manipulating his arms into the odd positions, his mind inevitably went back to Astrid's touch.

Since the first time he touched her, he knew it was different. Shaking hands with executives at those ridiculously cutthroat balls and company parties, even shaking hands with his own employees was a singular feeling. Even attractive women who he had touched before, even with that handshake, never affected him much.

Touching Astrid…was like touching fire. His hands tingled when her skin came _near_ him. His eyes always widened when they landed on her. The way her hair fell down her back when it was only in a ponytail, or how it looked so intricately woven when it was braided. He was no connoisseur; he was practically mystified with the ways women twisted their hair around. He could take apart a computer and put it back together in eight minutes. He couldn't even figure out where a braid _started_.

Rachel took time out of her day, fairly often, to poke fun at him about his lack of experience when it came to the subtleties of the fairer sex. Though plenty of people around him knew he was no rookie when it came to sex itself, as an act, he still didn't understand the first thing about women and they're personality…oddities.

When he was younger, and his father still ran DragonTech, Hiccup had a streak of time when he was seventeen that could be considered hellacious. A streak of time when he thought his money to be the greatest thing ever, and spending it became the only thing he did with his time. He experimented with many things. Drugs. Alcohol. Drugs and alcohol together. Fast cars. Loose women. Any combination of those things, and undoubtedly all of them together at some point.

In retrospect, he was a damn lucky man. None of those women had ever ended up pregnant, and he had never caught any diseases, or caught any problems with law enforcement. For a good year, he was as wild as a person could get. He hated his father, because of the structure and the rules, and he rebelled. When it finally came to a head, with an accidental overdose that he just barely escaped with his life from, Hiccup had seen the error of his ways. He reformed immediately and began putting his robotics expertise to use. Fate was cruel though, and only six months after he changed for the better, his father died of a stroke.

The Haddock patriarchs had always been told to be strong, emotionally stable men, and Hiccup was of little difference. He mourned is father for an appropriate time before coming to grips with it. He had inherited DragonTech, and now he needed to be the man with the plan. So he started constructing a base he could work with. Luck was on his side again, because Gary was already here and an old friend of his fathers. The man's tutelage and advice did wonders for Hiccup's early time.

Veronica was his first find, and he plucked her away from the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. Her skills in organization were unmatched, and she could crank numbers like a ticker machine. Then he found Frank Inger, a man who was graduating from MIT with triple degrees; in computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. A maestro with modern technology such as laptops, cell phones and other modern appliances. He was now the head of DragonTech's home technology branch.

Then came his golden find. He was invited to a small town college in Montana to give a talk, and he was willing to do anything to get the name of robotics out there. While he went, he discovered a small stall sitting on the campus green with a sign that read _Trevor's Tech._ He initially went over to see just how funny the little attempts would be at real tech, but he was surprised. The small robots that he found were incredible.

Trevor, the tattooed hippie looking boy who ran the small stall, had a startling mind for machinery. He spoke of his robots, but then he also spoke of something else that he made. He pulled it out, and Hiccup was alarmed to find a prototype, full body robot, with movements that were startlingly realistic. When he inquired how Trevor managed to replicated the physical motions, he introduced his sister, Rachel, and talked about how she was a genius when it came to muscles.

He hired both of them that day, immediately. They were only eighteen, and the things they were doing represented a passion that was unrivaled by almost all others he could find. There were barriers for them. Things that they came to Hiccup about. Things that they said they would have to take care of before ever contemplating leaving Montana. He considered them, but remembered his father's words to him. The single lesson that he now lived by. His mantra.

Fast forward six years, and he found Scott Jorgo. A prideful machinist with a penchant for overindulgence in the same things that Hiccup did when he was seventeen. He had a mean streak with an ego to match, but he was a brilliant man, and one that Hiccup needed to be on the top. On the cutting edge. Under them, DragonTech Robotics grew quickly, through innovation, to the top of the robotics world.

Even being at the top of the world here, Hiccup had never had a monogamous relationship. Before he owned DragonTech, he was too wild and crazy to be tied to one single woman. Now that he did own DragonTech, he was too busy, and those who did interest _him_ were not interested _in_ him. Only his money. The few horrible experiences he had with women like that had left him disinterested, generally, in the dating scene. In a way, he was holding out hope that he found someone who would look past the money, at the man. Which seemed unlikely.

His phone, sitting in his jacket pocket, rang. He answered it quickly, without looking at the ID. He never looked at the ID. He really has to work on that. "Hiccup."

"Hey. How did the thing with Astrid's class go?"

"Good. I noticed how quiet her professor was." Rachel let out a laugh, and he could tell from the echo that she was in one of her personal therapy rooms. Being the mastermind of the whole plan to make that professor eat her words, Rachel was probably the most satisfied by its result.

"Bitch deserved to get punched in the teeth for what she said..." The girl muttered, and Hiccup let a smile flit to his face. While Rachel and Trevor Thorston were two people he would always trust, the both of them had quite a wild side, as well as matching tempers. Rachel had done a lot to control hers, while Trevor still allowed himself to lash out a bit. It was seldom, but it was more often than his sister.

"Easy. She knows that she was wrong," He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I just hope that this is the last time that people question Astrid."

"I hear that," Rachel agreed. "Starting to really piss me off how people are getting on her. Not having a degree didn't hit me or Trevor like this when we started." When he found them in Montana, neither of the twins had degrees. So, just like Astrid was right now, they had gone through school while beginning to work with him. Just as she had said, there wasn't nearly as much trouble as this back then, and it was only a few years ago.

"You almost done with that project of yours?" Rachel's question sent him back into his thoughts, both of his lab downstairs as well as his arm, which was the direct result of that project.

"Getting close. If I work efficiently, I could present it by Thanksgiving. Frankly, I'm surprised that I was able to work it out this fast." He informed her. He really hoped that he could make that happen, but he would need to be able to work diligently, without worrying about pain in his arm stopping him every few minutes. "I've hardly ever come out with a prototype this quickly."

Rachel laughed. "Only at DragonTech." The phone call ended after a bit more light conversation. His mind was still wandering as he brought the phone from his ear. There were so many things that he was trying to do, trying to make sense of right now that it almost gave him a headache. He knew for certain that he was doing the right thing, or at least the right thing in his mind. Whether everyone else interpreted it that way was another story altogether.

One of the things, sometimes, that got on his nerves about being a CEO was the distinct lack of time to just be by himself. There was nearly _always_ someone calling him, needing his attention or approval for one thing or the other. Then there were times that others came to his building looking for him. This was one of those times.

His phone rang again and he rolled his eyes as he picked it up. "Hiccup."

"He's here again." Veronica's annoyed voice came through the phone. Hiccup let go of a long sigh. He, meaning Donovan Dagur, the owner of Berserk Industries, was a man who had been a thorn in Hiccup's side since he took over the company. Donovan had decided that because Hiccup was so young, he couldn't possibly run a company well, and made it his life dream to acquire DragonTech Robotics from the young CEO.

So far, he had only succeeded in looking like an idiot. Which everyone knew, except Donovan himself.

"Send him to the north conference room. I'll text the others." Hiccup said with a groan. The call ended and he sent the text out to his fellow's heads. They always had to run this meeting when Donovan was here, because he was coming with another stupid offer. Or demand. Or whatever ridiculous plot he'd concocted.

Hiccup went down a single floor, his hand rubbing circles into his temple, the unavoidable headache already starting. He hated these. All they were was unproductive and a waste of time on everyone's part. The elevator opened and he strode down the halls towards the main conference room. Toothless wasn't on this floor today, the giant dog having been relegated to the penthouse for the afternoon.

He stepped into the room, and immediately knew that this was going to suck. Donovan sat at the head of the table, where Hiccup was supposed to sit, looking extremely proud of himself. Rachel was already there, so he took a seat next to her, meeting her irritated gaze. She hated Donovan more than anyone else at DragonTech.

"About time, _Hiccup_ ," Donovan sneered. "I hate being kept waiting in _my_ new building." Hiccup rolled his eyes as the same old speech came out. Every few months, the owner of Berserk got this wild idea that he suddenly had some scheme that would allow him to take over DragonTech from under Hiccups nose. Every single time, it was more and more stupid.

"Let's wait until the others get here and we'll hear your master plan, alright?" Hiccup said dryly, putting his head on his fist. Why this constantly came up was beyond him. Any man who runs a company should be more than aware of when he had no chance of acquiring another. Why the hell did he keep trying? There were rumors circulating among the business world that Donovan had been showing some pretty obvious warning signs of mental illness. Maybe that's why.

The others all arrived, and every single one of them shared an equally bewildered look at finding Donovan in Hiccups seat. At a small look of derision from him, they sat down, understanding that this was another stupid, time wasting things that the other CEO was convinced that he would actually come out on top with.

"Alright, we're all here, so lets beg-"

"I am taking over DragonTech Robotics!" Donovan yelled, interrupting Hiccup. The seven members of DragonTech's ruling body rolled their eyes in tandem, but as they always did, nobody said anything. Other than Hiccup of course.

"How are you going to do that, Donovan?" He sighed, knowing that he was going to have to go all around and convince the man that he was being stupid. As always.

"Once I purchase all your assets, then you will have no choice." He said smugly, leaning back in the leather chair.

"One hundred billion dollars." Hiccup stated, knowing his companies numbers by heart. He also knew that Donovan could never come up with that much money. Berserk Industries was a small company that was limited to the southeast coast of the United States.

Donovan looked outraged that such a number would be something that he would have to pay to acquire DragonTech, which was ridiculous because it hadn't changed from five months back when he came storming in here with the same goal in mind. Hiccup began a small countdown in his head as he watched the wheels in the other man's head turn.

 _Three…two…one…zer-_

"How about you just sell me DragonTech at, say, fifteen percent market price."

"You still couldn't afford it, Donovan. Even if we were willing to sell," Frank interjected. "We all know Berserk is not worth even close to a _billion_ dollars, much less fifteen billion." Hiccup watched as the meeting progressed exactly how he knew it would. Donovan would make his claim and demands, and they would calmly explain to him why he was being crazy.

"You will never acquire DragonTech Robotics, Donovan. So, do us all a favor and leave so we can get along with our days." Hiccup drawled, not caring about how he looked like a spoiled teenager being forced to eat his vegetables. He was slouched over in his chair, his elbow on the table and his head resting on his fist, still.

"I will get this company, _Hiccup!_ " Donovan yelled before storming out, throwing Hiccups nice leather chair to the floor and eliciting collective sighs around the table. They all knew that Donovan's visits were brief, explosive, and a waste of time. Thankfully, not a lot of time.

"How long?" Hiccup asked Gary, who had kept a timer on the whole time.

"Six minutes, thirty six seconds." The man answered. Hiccup heard a short guffaw from down the table.

"Longer than usual that time…these plans are getting more and more intricate. We better watch out!" Trevor laughed before getting up and leaving the room. The others soon followed suit, leaving Hiccup alone in his conference room. The fortieth floor was home to many conference rooms. Sometimes, he wondered if he should just hangout on this floor all the time. It seemed like Donovan's visits were getting more and more frequent.

He took out his phone, content to simply sit here and enjoy his solitude for a moment. Right this second, there was nobody who could get his attention, other than for a dire emergency. He went through his email, as he did every time he had a chance, and his eyes alighted on something that he seemed to have missed. It was marked as read, but as he looked at the subject line, he didn't recall reading it.

He scanned through the message, noting dates and times. It was the annual ball held for the major companies of the east coast. He was the main attraction every year because of how influential DragonTech was, and normally he didn't like going. Of course he had to, but regardless. His night always panned out to include countless propositions from other CEOs that always paid off better for them than DragonTech, and then he also endured endless propositions from the opposite sex. To describe it as Trevor did one year, this was the yearly ball for the NAGD. The National Association of Gold Diggers. While Hiccup detested the term, it did accurately describe the women who came after him at gala's like this. He marked it for important and sent it to Odin, then set the phone down.

His eyes alighted on the windows in front of him, and more importantly, the setting sun outside. He breathed in deeply, reveling in the wonderful silence that pervaded the conference room. It had often crossed his mind to simply go and buy out Berserk so Donovan would leave him alone, but in all reality, doing more work with Dagur and his second rate company was exactly _not_ what he wanted.

His mind ventured to the products made by Berserk, especially the weapons manufacturing they did. His father, and his grandfather before him, made it a point that no matter what happened, DragonTech would _never_ deal in weapons. He had no urge to deal in weapons anyway, and that also played a role in his decision to avoid Berserk as much as possible.

His phone buzzed on the table and his eyes wandered down. An email, colorfully noted as being internal affairs, had appeared. He opened the phone and began to read.

 _Hello, Mr. Haddock,_

 _My name is Eric Tallman, and I am the HR head at the Boston branch. I hope you find the time to read this, and soon. I have noticed some disturbing trends within the branch here, primarily concerned with female employees and the Head of the Boston branch, Derek Bloomfield. I have spoken, privately, to several female employees about their interactions with Mr. Bloomfield, and all of them only refer to him as "General Drago." While Mr. Bloomfields split name is actually "Drago", I am concerned about the General portion that is unique to only these women. Also, I have watched these woman and find that they regularly visit Mr. Bloomfields offices, although they have no clear reason for doing so. I believe that there is sexual misconduct taking place here in Boston, and I did not know who else to go to._

 _I would appreciate any advice you could give me on this matter._

 _Thank you,_

 _Eric "Eret" Tallman._

Hiccup read through the email a few more times, anger boiling in his stomach every single time he read through it. He slammed a hand on the table and stood to his feet, his finger flicking through his phone and dialing Valka.

"Valka."

"Veronica, call another meeting in fifteen minutes in the conference room on floor 5. We have work to do." He didn't wait for a response and stormed off into the depths of his domain, his eyes burning with determination. Someone was messing with his company, and he refused to allow it to continue.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey readers. I really have to apologize about this chapter coming out so late. Things in life got real dicey for a few days, and it all resulted in me literally have 5 hours of sleep for four days. Anyway, I will warn you now and say that this chapter is relatively light on story progression and heavy on cameos. You'll see what I mean. Anyway, super thank you to all you wonderful people who reviewed last chapter.**

 **I really appreciate you readers and all you've done for me! I will do my best to not allow an update to go this late again!**

 **Enjoy!**

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Astrid groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she leaned up in bed, her phone going mad beside her. Squinting at the bright screen, she managed to find the green smudge that was the answer button and slid her finger across it. "Hello?" She mumbled, trying her best to sound coherent.

"Wake up lazy. I need you for something. Something special." Ruffnut sounded as awake as could be, which befuddled Astrid to no end. She flipped off her covers and swung her legs out of bed, running a hand through her hair. She'd gotten home from drinks with Heather not two hours ago, and it was…three in the morning, confirmed by a blurry look at the time on her phone.

"What is so important that you have to call me at three in the morning? Couldn't you wait like…five hours?"

Normally, Ruffnut would make fun of her, or say something stupid, or some other ridiculous thing. Not this time. "No. Get your ass out of bed and pack a bag for at least a week. You're coming to Boston with me."

Astrid's head jerked up to stare at the wall. "What!? What for!?"

"Trust me, Astrid, if you value your job you'll get up and pack a bag. Remember how I told you about the three modes of Hiccup?"

Astrid nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Well, Owner and CEO Hiccup is on the warpath, and he's bringing the Board of Directors to Boston." She explained. Astrid paled slightly, her mind wandering to the stories she'd heard about how Hiccup never, ever fell into this fabled 'Owner and CEO' mode. Even Fishlegs, whom she'd spoken to many times, who was the most level headed of all the heads, said that something terrible was happening if Hiccup got that way.

Astrid got up and turned on her light, then headed towards her closet. "Hold on, I'm not on the board!"

Ruffnut groaned. "Jesus Christ woman, can you not listen? Just hurry up. I'll explain when we get on the plane. Come downstairs." Astrid paused, contemplating the statement before curiously doing as she was told. She wandered down the stairs and immediately noticed headlights in her driveway. Hurrying a bit more, she unlocked and opened the door to find Ruffnut standing there, phone to ear and an unamused eyebrow cocked.

"Hurry up." She deadpanned, Astrid hearing the words both through her open ear and through the phone. Astrid rushed up the stairs and into her room, as silently as she could as to not wake her mother and brother and began throwing clothes into a suitcase. Underwear…bras…socks…shirts…pants…jea-

"Whoa. Got enough lacey stuff dude?" Astrid jerked around and found Ruffnut staring down at her open underwear drawer. "I thought you were single? Way too much lace in here for a single girl."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "If you must know, I felt like buying nice underwear once I could afford it. Seeing as I _don't_ have a guy…it makes me feel sexy." She blushed a bit, admitting such a fact to her boss, whom she knew was bisexual, made her feel a bit uneasy. Thankfully, Ruffnut was the type of person to not tease her in that regard.

"Whatever works dude. I left a stack of cash on the kitchen counter. Figured your mom might need it while you're gone."

Astrid smiled widely. "Oh! That's really nice of you. Mom does have a debit card connected to my account though, but I appreciate it." She went quietly to her bathroom and packed her essentials into her toiletry bag, then threw that into the suitcase. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go." As soon as Astrid turned to the hallway, she froze. Luke sat there, in his chair, looking quite adorably exhausted.

"Sis? What's going on?" He mumbled.

Astrid fell to her knees in front of him. "Something has come up, and I'm going to be gone for a few days, bud. It's for work, and it's nothing bad. At least not for me." She reassured him. He nodded tiredly and spun his chair, wheeling back to his room. Astrid held up a finger to Ruffnut and followed him to his room. His chair alongside his bed, she helped him get up and get back into bed, pulling his covers up to beneath his chin.

"Sleep well, bud," She whispered, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. He mumbled something that she couldn't hear and burrowed down into his bed as best he could. She left the room, closing the door softly and backing away from it. Back in her room, Ruffnut had zipped up the suitcase and was standing next to it, looking rushed.

"Dude, not to hurry you or anything…but hurry up." Astrid chose not to call her boss on the clearly deliberate complaint and simply glared.

"Fine, but get out so I can actually change into something decent." Wordlessly, the tattooed woman left and went down the stairs, taking the suitcase with her. Astrid dashed around the room, throwing on clothes and quickly braiding her hair before yanking open her door, only to come face to face with her mother.

The older woman, although tired, was far more used to it than Luke and therefor way more lucid. "Astrid, what is going on, dear?"

Astrid pointed downstairs. "Ruffnut came and called me. Apparently she needs me for something important and I'm going to be gone for a few days. She said a week." As she explained it to her mother, Astrid realized steadily that she had been caught up in her boss' haste so much that she hadn't really questioned what she was going to be doing. After a seconds thought, she figured that it sounded absolutely ridiculous.

Thankfully her mother simply nodded with a soft smile. "Alright dear. Be safe." She said, pulling her daughter in for a hug. Astrid returned, glad to have her mother's approval, but in a way, she was curious.

"Is that it, mom? You don't have any questions about where I'm going or anything?" She posed quietly, still thinking about Luke sleeping in his room and not wanting to wake him again. He had school in a few hours.

Ingrid shook her head, reaching up and cupping one of Astrid's cheeks. "My sweet daughter, you must know by now. You've been the head of this family for almost three years now. I would never question what you do. I can only wish for you to be safe. Now, I overheard Ruffnut telling you to hurry. I think you should listen to her." She leaned in and kissed Astrid's forehead and retreated back to her bedroom. Astrid stood there for a moment, feeling both happy and guilty at the same time. She was happy that her mother supported her so much, but she felt guilty about what her mom said about her being the head of the family. There were so many things that she knew nothing about...she shook her head firmly to dispel the thoughts.

She couldn't afford to think about stuff like that. She would always do what was best for her family, no matter what that is. Any situation, and she would face it head on for Luke, mom, and dad. She was a Hofferson, and Hoffersons stuck together through all sorts of challenges. With her resolve strengthened, she went down the stairs hurriedly. In the kitchen, on the counter, she found the stack of cash that Ruffnut had left and made sure to put it directly in front of the coffee machine. She knew mom would find it there. She took a second to write a quick note about the origin of the money before grabbing her keys and heading out the door, locking it.

It was still dark, and she was looking into headlights so she couldn't really tell what kind of car Ruffnut drove, but it had to be a sports car of some kind. She had to dip pretty low to get into it, and the shape seemed sleek. Inside, Ruffnut sat with the music off and the heat going. It was the first week of October, so it was getting a bit cold at nights. "About damn time. Plane leaves soon."

"Oh shit…" Astrid groaned, her mind finally processing that it would take far too long to drive all the way to Massachusetts. "I've never flown!"

Ruffnut shrugged as she sped down the road towards the highway. "Doesn't matter. You don't need a passport for domestic travel."

Astrid paused for a moment, wondering exactly what a passport was. Ruffnut must have sensed the silence was because of her confusion and explained. "When you fly internationally, across country borders, you need a passport. Like a little booklet thingy that says you are who you are and whatnot. For flights inside the continental US, you don't need one. Just an ID, and you have that."

Astrid nodded in slightly faked understanding. "Alright…um…what are we going to Boston for?" She asked, masking her sudden excitement at the prospect of something completely new in her life. _Travel_. She'd never imagined that she would be able to travel somewhere that wasn't within driving distance, and now she was actually going somewhere new!

"First things first. The reason you are coming with me is because of another one of Hiccups rules. When the Board of Directors visits another branch for internal affairs purposes, two directors brings a 'second' director. Basically, a checker. I am bringing you, Fishlegs is bringing someone too."

Astrid remained silent, wanted to get all the information before asking questions. Ruffnut sensed this and continued immediately. "The purpose for this is to make sure that everything we do is by the book. Coming with us means that, while you're at this branch in Boston, you will have all the same powers as myself. Except, you won't be able to fire anyone."

"Why would that be different? You know, not that I'm looking to fire anyone, but still…"

Ruffnut hit the highway, and the car roared up to eighty miles an hour. "In internal affairs situations, we might have to interview people. When I say we, I mean you and one other guy who is coming. See, when people are brought into a meeting with a member of the Board, they get all nervous about their job and whether the will keep it or not. So they lie if they have done something wrong, and if they haven't, then they just say they don't know anything when they actually might. That's where you come in."

Astrid had cottoned on to the idea now. "So, if I can't fire someone, then people will be more willing to tell me things they wouldn't tell you or Tuff?"

Ruffnut punched Astrid softly on the shoulder. "Now you're getting it, killer. Now, you might not have to talk to anyone at all, and truly, I don't think you will be. Hiccup is absolutely furious, so I think this is going to be a clearout mission. Bunch of people about to be fired, and a bunch of people about to be promoted."

They rode for ten minutes in silence, Astrid processing what she'd been told and Ruffnut choosing to not say anything else. Astrid's thoughts were about the rule of bringing people who weren't directors in on internal affairs issues and the possible problems associated with it. Hiccup had obviously had something like this happen before, if he had such an intricate failsafe put in place to deal with it all. It made her wonder why he did that, because for a man with as much power as him, he could just fire everyone and hire and entirely new staff, and he could do that all before lunch.

After another few minutes, she couldn't contain herself. "So what actually happened?"

Ruffnut snickered. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Hiccup got an email from the HR director in Boston, and that email contained concerns that the head dude there is fucking his employees. And not the good fucking either."

Astrid couldn't hold back her snort of laughter. "Good fucking? There's a difference?"

"Yeah dude. Good fucking is the consensual, both parties are all in on it type deal. This is the kind of fucking where people might lose their job if they don't. That kind."

Astrid decided not to inform her boss that she'd guessed that was the situation already, knowing that it wouldn't do anything. Instead, she set back and waited for the drive to end, wherever they happened to be going. She had her answer soon, however, when Ruffnut took the exit for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

"Are you tired?" Ruffnut asked. Astrid wanted to say something snarky about the obvious, but she decided against it. Pissing Ruffnut off never worked out well.

"Yeah. I only got about two hours of sleep before you arrived."

Ruffnut sighed. "Yeah, sorry about waking you up and all. Urgency sucks, doesn't it? Anyway, our plane has bedrooms on it."

Astrid glared over in a mixture of disbelief and surprise. "Excuse me?"

XXX

Astrid has seen planes. Pictures, the internet, commercials on TV. However, she'd never seen a plane quite like this one. She had assumed that DragonTech, being the giants of the business world that they were, had a private jet or something similar, but this thing that she and Ruffnut pulled up to wasn't a jet. It was a flying hotel. And it was fucking awesome.

They'd arrived a few hours back, and when Ruffnut said that they were the first ones there, Astrid had been both annoyed and not annoyed at the same time. Instead of arguing with her boss about why she was so rushed from home, Astrid took up the offer to sleep in one of the planes bedrooms. They weren't large, only containing a bed and a bedside table, as well as a mirror and a sink. Astrid had been told that the bedrooms were also soundproofed, and Ruffnut offered a wink that Astrid wasn't sure of.

She'd chosen to not test the statement and went to sleep immediately. The bed was extremely comfortable, and she so enjoyed her time to sleep. Four hours later, she was woken by a hard banging on the door. Tuffnut had come to retrieve her because the plane was taking off and she need to be in the 'lounge'.

So now she found herself in a central room on the plane, buckled into a large leather seat next to Ruffnut. With them was the entire board of directors and two others who she didn't know. One was a large, broad shoulder blonde man who wore an earpiece, and another was a thin, short man wearing a suit. He sat next to Fishlegs, which led Astrid to believe that he was FIshlegs 'second director'.

As if reading her mind, Ruffnut nudged her. "That guy in the seat next to Fish? That's Tadashi Hamada. A tech and engineering wizard from Japan. He specializes in home technology robotics, which is why he works under Fishlegs instead of directly under Hiccup. And…speaking of Hiccup…"

Astrid turned her head to look at the CEO, sitting silently in a seat directly across the hull from them. The tall, broad shouldered man sat next to him in the other seat. "That simply _delicious_ hunk of manchild over there is Kristoff Bjorgman. An ex-Green Beret who always accompanies Hiccup when he travels as his personal security guard and ass-kicker."

The man looked, for all his apparent ass kickery ability, like a kind hearted soul who wouldn't really hurt someone…but then again, Astrid was finding that many people were not as they seemed on the outside. "He is gonna have a little chat with you when we hit cruising altitude. Just to make sure you're up on everything."

Astrid glanced over at her, a curious look on her face. "Everything meaning…"

"General operations when you're part of a Board of Directors entourage. Nothing insane."

Astrid nodded slowly. "Oh…I see." As she spoke, Astrid felt the plane begin to shake, and the engines roared. She'd felt the plane moving earlier, but it wasn't too disconcerting. She gripped the armrests of her seat as hard as she could, her fingers going white. The roar grew louder as the rumbling increased and then…a sickening lift in her chest. The feeling made her gag, and she thought for a moment that she would throw up. Her head suddenly felt…restricted, and an awful vertigo took hold of her.

"Never been on a plane, have you?" Astrid opened her eyes and looked over at Tuffnut, who was smiling over at her. He was slouched over in the seat, his feet thrown over the side of it carelessly, looking as comfortable as ever. "Don't worry. The feeling in your stomach will pass." She appreciated his departure from the classic Thorston sarcasm, more exhibited by him than Ruffnut in most cases. She did feel sick, but the feeling was already dissipating. The plane had come to a more level position, and maybe that had something to do with it, but she still felt a bit…murky.

Thankfully, nobody else wanted to speak with her immediately, and about twenty minutes later saw her feeling much better. The plane had leveled out completely since then, and the sick feeling in her belly had traded places with a light headache which hardly affected her. The others had since gotten up and moved about to different places in the plane, and really Astrid was almost alone in the central lounge area. The only other person sitting there was the security guard, Kristoff. She imagined that he was waiting for some signal that she was feeling better to come and speak to her as Ruffnut had mentioned. When she unbuckled herself, he did as well, confirming her belief.

"Feeling normal?" He asked, coming over to stand in front of her.

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, a bit…I've never ridden on a plane before."

"So I heard. Hiccup had a lot to say about you," Astrid felt her neck redden from the words and she immediately wondered what exactly Hiccup had to say about her to his personal security guard. Hopefully, the things that he'd said weren't negative in nature. Kristoff chuckled at her. "Don't worry. Only good things."

Astrid sat there, surprised and a little dumbfounded by how perceptive this security guard was. Ruffnut had said that he was an ex-Green Beret but…he was near telepathic. She smiled awkwardly. "So…Ruffnut said that you would want to talk to me about…general operations or something?"

He nodded. "I did. Nothing major, but something we need to talk about. Seeing as you and Tadashi are the second directors, you each get a personal security assistant when we're in Boston."

Astrid frowned at the large man. "Is that really necessary?" It wasn't like they were going into a warzone, or even another country. They weren't members of the mob or anything. All they were was the, as Ruffnut called it, entourage of the Board of Directors. What sort of company had personal security guards for the people who visited other branches?

Oh wait. She knew what Ruffnut would tell her if she asked.

"Only at DragonTech…" She mumbled.

Before she could continue, Kristoff laughed loudly. "Yep. That's the word. Anyway, it's only a precaution. You won't be in any real danger at any point in time. Here," He handed her a small electronic card. "That's a special micro-SD card created by DragonTech that will gives us a live-feed of your location 24 hours a day…" As soon as Astrid opened her mouth, his hand was up and stopping her.

"Easy now. I'm not going to be watching you all that time. Really, that is just another safety measure. We won't look where you are unless we need to. Now, when we arrive, you'll meet your personal detail…"

Astrid wasn't mollified, even a bit. "How exactly is all of this necessary?! Hiccup is literally going to check on an issue in another branch of his own company!"

The large man was hardly moved by her outburst. "Have you seen Tuffnut's scar?"

Astrid went silent, shaking her head slowly. "No…"

Kristoff nodded. "He has a long scar from the back of his left shoulder to the middle of his back. Came from a man at a conference three years ago. Followed Tuff to his room and tried to rob him. Tuff fought him but got kicked into a mirror, slicing his back pretty good. That was before the personal details and we didn't find him for seven hours. Now you see why we keep security?" Astrid said nothing, but she tried to think if she had ever really seen a scar on Tuffnut. The machinist tended to wear tank tops and cutoffs a lot, but she can't really recall seeing it. Kristoff took her silence as an answer and continued.

"Now, your personal detail will only consist of a single person, and it won't be a case of a suit following you around. You'll meet with her when we arrive in Boston."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow. "Her?"

Kristoff nodded. "Yeah. My sister Anna will be your personal detail. She's a bit more bubbly and friendly than Elsa, so I think she's a better fit for you. Tadashi and Elsa know each other already so that will work just fine."

Astrid knew that she would feel weird about having a security detail, but she kept her misgivings to herself, choosing instead to change the subject. "Who is Elsa?"

Kristoff pulled out a wallet and took a picture from it, holding it up. "Anna's wife and my sister in law. Elsa is on the left." Astrid was amazed to see two simply gorgeous women in a wedding photo. Anna, whom she assumed was the redhead on the right, looked positively stunning in a flowing white dress, holding a bright bouquet of burning red roses and deep blue orchids.

Standing arm in arm with the beaming bride was a taller woman with stark platinum blonde hair, turned into an exotic looking braid over her left shoulder. Elsa wore a stylish tuxedo with an icy blue vest beneath and a crisp white shirt, her face turned and lips pressed to her new wife's cheek. "They look very happy." She observed.

"I would say so. Two were head over heels for each other from the moment they met. Anyway, come on with me and I'll explain how we do things." Astrid followed the security guard, her mind wandering to the days to come. All of this seemed a little…much.

* * *

 **Again, super sorry about this update coming late. Life stinks at times. I'm aware that this chapter is a bit light on stuff happening and heavy on cameos, but it's a necessary set up chapter. Thanks guys! Reviews always appreciated!**

 **AN: I know that kickery isn't really a word, but it sounded funny to me!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Holy wordyness! This chapter turned out to be a doozy. I actually really liked how it came out, and I hope none of you are too mad at me for the long wait. This thing is a monster, coming in over 8900 words!**

 **Anyway, I know you want to get to reading, so I'll keep this short. Seeing as I am posting this on Sunday morning, the double will come Wednesday morning. Chapters 13 and 14 will go up at exactly the same time. Just to say it now, I would appreciate if you would review each chapter individually so I can maintain high quality writing for each and every upload.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **AN: Hiccup is a bit uh...not himself in this chapter. You'll see it. It was planned that way. Never fear.**

* * *

The first thing Astrid noticed came with a cruel blast of reality and a small taste of ignorance. When the plane began to land into Logan International Airport, Astrid paled. The city was covered in a blanket of pure white, a nearly thirteen inch snowfall having come down the day before. Ruffnut, to her credit, found the fact that she happened to not mention that Astrid should bring something absolutely hysterical.

"It's not funny!" Astrid pouted, looking out the window as the plane descended to the runway, the drifts of puffy snow blowing powdery mists around the runway.

"Killer, seeing your face go as white as the snow itself was entirely worth it!" Ruffnut choked out through her laughter, which had been going strong for nearly fifteen minutes now. Astrid knew that it wouldn't be an issue to buy a stupid jacket from the airport, but still. She had tried to avoid meeting Hiccup's eyes, thinking that he might think she was a bit idiotic for having forgotten to bring something warm to wear to the northeast corner of the stupid country.

The flight had been quiet after she spoke with Kristoff, and she'd been glad for it as well. It gave her time to think about things like what the hell was she going to tell her professor when she missed two classes in a row? She hadn't even spared a single thought towards school when Ruffnut came to get her from home, and no way would she be able to get back to Charlotte in time. What was she going to miss? What if that horrible Dr. Parr decided to give them a super important assignment and Astrid fails because she isn't there!?

She had to take time to calm herself down. She knew the schedule of the class by heart, and she knew that this week carried no particular weight in terms of assignments. Also, attendance was not considered part of the grade, and therefor she wouldn't be caused any problems there. Still…she had to pass her classes. It was never specifically stated in her employment detailing what would happen should she fail a course, but she wanted to take no chances. While her interaction with Snotlout had been to a wonderful minimum, she still remembered how fiercely he disagreed with the rest of the board about her.

The plane touched down and Astrid stomach fell out at how loud things got. It sounded as if the craft was being torn apart, and she gripped the rests of her seat so hard her knuckles went white. Again. She hoped that nobody noticed, but then again…they had to notice that she had never been on a plane before. She got no warning about take offs and landing and believing that she was going to die.

The board stood and filed towards the hatch of the plane, where stairs would extend for them. She'd soon other planes have to go to the main building and have some sort of boarding tube extended out, but apparently the private nature of Hiccup's plane meant that couldn't happen. Which means they would be going out into the cold air and snow. Astrid, in her jeans and thin tee, would be freezing. She had not seen where they would be going, but she had to assume that she would get frostbite before they got there.

"Rachel," Hiccup said, and Astrid jumped at his voice. He hadn't said a word the whole flight, or at least not one that she had heard, but his voice was so…hard. Angry. Like he was barely keeping things together. "Why does Astrid not have something warm?"

"Thought it would be funny to see her get all flustered about the snow." Ruffnut answered, quite matter-of-factly, any tone of laughter or sarcasm gone from her voice. Hiccup scowled deeply at the head before shedding his coat and holding it out.

"Astrid, take this. You can wear it until we reach the hotel. Then Rachel will be taking you shopping."

"What!? Dude, it was a long morning, I'm tir-"

"I don't want to hear it." Again, Astrid shuddered at the cold steel in his voice. Ruffnut, amazingly, shut her mouth immediately and only nodded. Hesitantly, but not slowly, Astrid took the jacket from him and pulled it over her shoulders. He was taller than she was, and broader in the shoulders, so the warm garment hung on her frame, enveloping her like a black blanket that was two sizes too large.

She noted, in the depths of her mind, that it smelled distinctly like… _him_. Not that she had identified a smell associated with him, but he always smelled of cold mountain air and some flowery scent that she couldn't place. Sometimes it hung back and she only detected the scent after he'd left, and only once had she ever been with him when it was thicker and that was when her class came to DragonTech yesterday. The coat was warm, from him wearing it, and the little romance obsessed girl in Astrid would dream of a time when she could wear his clothes whenever she chose.

But this wasn't that dream, as she was reminded cruelly of that when the door finally opened in the hatch of the plane and a blast of cold air hit her like a sudden wave of stinging bees. Immediately, her cheeks and ears began to burn, and her lungs spiked in pain as she tried to breathe the frigid air. Unconsciously, she burrowed her face down into Hiccups jacket, trying vainly to escape the cold before she froze to death.

The other heads descended the stairs looking, for the most part unconcerned with the temperature. Tuffnut was still wearing his tank top, and Astrid wondered if the machinist even felt pain. Maybe Ruffnut tried to do some experimental treatment on him and severed his nerve connections. That had to be it. That was the only way anyone could stand this cold without being inside a building with the heater on full blast.

She followed them down to the snowy tarmac and across a short distance to a large hanger, inside which she could see the beautiful outlines of large SUVs, which no doubt had heaters inside them. She fought the urge to sprint past the rest of them to the cars and hop in, deciding that looking like a child would probably do nothing to help her being freezing anyway. For a whole excruciating minute and a half she followed along silently. When Ruffnut yanked open the back door to one of the SUVs, Astrid shoved her out of the way and jumped inside.

"Rushed much?" Ruffnut scoffed. "It isn't that cold."

"Bite me." Astrid snipped, huddling in the corner of the car, pulling her legs up and under the ends of Hiccup's jacket. Ruffnut only rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut. A few moments later, someone go into the driver's seat, and Astrid immediately recognized the blazing red hair. Her suspicions were confirmed when the woman turned around.

"Where to, Ruffnut?" It was Anna. The girl from the picture Kristoff had shown her. Astrid hugged herself, wishing that the car had been started and running when they arrived. It was still cold as hell, and she shivered in the corner.

"The mall. Need to buy killersicle over here a sweater." Ruffnut answered, and Astrid rolled her eyes at the mocking, bored tone of her voice. She knew that her boss was just being difficult, because the hippie had done it a thousand times to her, and a thousand times more. A few more minutes and that car had begun to really warm up, and Astrid sat up, staring out the window. Boston was such a…tight knit place. Even Charlotte felt a bit more spread out than this place. Alleys were everywhere that she could see, and that mixed in with the undeniably huge amount of orange that she saw.

It seemed like the entire city was under construction, with orange cones and taped off areas poking out everywhere among the blanket of white and brown snow. People huddled into the warm winter gear, scarves, gloves and thick hats included. Astrid felt a pulse of sorrow at seeing groups of clearly homeless people, tucked into the overhangs of businesses and bus stops to escape the freezing snow. They looked haggard, hopeless and defeated, and she felt a tear run down her face.

"You feel connected to them?" Astrid turned to look at Ruffnut, who was looking out the same window. "Feel like you barely dodged being there yourself?" Saying that was harsh, but she had long been used to Ruffnut's inability to be subtle.

Astrid turned back to the window, staring out and seeing how miserable people were. Her thoughts ventured back to just a year ago, when things were getting dire for her family. Her job at the restaurant had been put off because of a change in management, so she had almost zero income for about a month and a half. They scraped by with cans of corn for dinner and packets of ramen noodles for their main diet. The lights and water were off and they were taking showers at Mr. Shifu's next door. They hardly had enough money to buy water from the store to drink.

She'd been in a dark place then. It was up to her to provide for the family, and she was failing. They were hardly living. Hardly making it by. There were times then when she could literally say that the entire family had no money. Not even coins. They were lucky though; Mr. Shifu helped them out near the end. Loaned them some money to turn the lights back on and buy some cheap food.

It was during that time that Johann took over the restaurant and it reopened. Astrid's flow of money came back and they regained some semblance of living again. Astrid had never opened up to her brother or mother about some of the things she did during that time to make a little cash. Hell, sometimes she still had nightmares about it. She cleaned out toilets at the local YMCA. She picked up trash at parks.

She stripped for a frat party at a local college. It was the lowest she had ever thought to go for money. She wore a mask and a wig the whole time because she was so petrified that news or pictures would get out of her stripping. And then, her greatest shame: after the party, one of the older frat boys, a senior, offered her five hundred dollars, in cash, to spend the night with him. She had jumped at the money, blocking out her morals as best she could.

She got all the way to his room. They had kissed passionately and undressed each other, and then he said he liked being blindfolded. He laid on the bed, blindfold on, member stiff and waiting for her. As good as the money was, she hesitated. She thought that this was far too low for her to go for money. It was literally prostitution, in its purest form. However…she couldn't turn the cash down. The whole night, she thought of her mother and her brother. Every depraved thing she did. Every position she took. Even as she swallowed the disgusting results of lust, she thought of her family and how the money would ease some of their pain.

She'd never told anyone. Nobody. And she fully intended to take that knowledge to her grave. Ruffnut accepted her silence as an answer and gave Astrid the privacy to think on her own. She was right though. Astrid did feel that she cheated the fate that these people have been saddled with. She had been lucky enough to meet Harry Haddock, even though it was solely by chance, which resulted in her landing here, sitting in a warm SUV after having gotten off a private plane. A private plane complete with bedrooms, owned by a man who could probably buy the city of Boston with all his money.

She imagined where she might have ended up had she not run into Harry Haddock. Had she not had so many tips that night and had enough money to go to the mall. Had she told Luke that they couldn't afford to go get food from the food court and simply left. She would still be working at the restaurant, the family hardly getting by and their future uncertain. Chance had changed her life, and now, looking at those who suffered day in and day out, she felt the distinctive, hollow feeling of guilt. Of being lucky enough to get somewhere off that cruel whim of chance.

That hollow feeling persisted until the car pulled into an underground parking lot and Astrid could no longer see the people outside. Ruffnut whipped open her door and beckoned to Astrid. "This is the underground parking for Copley Place. Let's go up and get you something warm. I'm tired dude."

* * *

"How much!?" Astrid exclaimed, staring in horror at the hotel receptionist who had just told her how much rooms cost per night at this building.

The man smiled politely. "For our standard room, it is 1599.99 a night, and for our deluxe rooms it is 2299.99." He was so nonchalant about the fact that his rooms cost as much as a mortgage on a really nice house, _per night_. Ruffnut didn't appear to care much, and Anna was as oblivious to Astrid's pain as the sun was to a cave mouse. The redhead was currently ooing and ahing at a gigantic fish tank in the wall, her eyes following a particularly frantic swimming blue fish.

"Dude, why do you care? We're here on Hiccup's dime."

Astrid turned to Ruffnut, a stunned expression on her face. "That doesn't mean we bankrupt him on a hotel room!"

Ruffnut actually burst out laughing. "Killer, come on. We could live here for fifty years and Hiccup would still have more than a billion in the bank." If the receptionist was alarmed by the amount of money that Ruffnut was referring to, he didn't show it at all. His eyes flicked down to his screen and he typed something into it.

"Did you mention the name Hiccup, ma'am?" He asked. Ruffnut nodded with a short reply. The receptionist turned his screen towards them. "A Mr. Hiccup Haddock has rooms reserved for two females. Are either of you lovely ladies a Rachel Thorston?"

Ruffnut held up a hand. "That's me."

The receptionist grinned and slid open a drawer, pulling out two key cards and sliding them over the counter. "Top floor, ladies. Luxury suites for both of you." Astrid paled as, once again, Hiccup and his wealth shattered her perception of what is normal and what isn't. If the deluxe room was 2300 bucks a night…then how much was a luxury suite!?

Ruffnut punched her none too lightly, shaking her out of her stupor. "Come on, killer. Complimentary room's service and about a hundred other cool things lie behind the doors to your suite." Astrid nodded numbly and took the room key shoved into her hand. Silently, she followed Ruffnut to the elevators and got in behind her, punching the button for the 12th floor, where their suites were apparently located.

Astrid was silent, her mind whirring with all the things that she was being exposed to. All the things she was seeing. How much… _money_ could alter ones reality. She was still in debt up to her neck, but that debt was falling far faster than she'd ever assumed it would. Compared to where the Hoffersons had been twelve months ago, they were living in luxury. How could she reconcile that with things she'd done differently herself?

Nothing is what she did differently. Again, her entire lot in life right now was based on luck. The luck of running into, literally, an extraordinarily powerful man in the middle of a mall food court. A moment sooner or later, a minute longer at a traffic light on the road that day, even a moment too long to brush her teeth that morning, and none of this would be happening. It really made her uncomfortable to know that her position in life was so fragile. So based on things that were entirely out of her control.

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor and Astrid stepped out, seeing that each suite door was actually reasonably far from each other. "Two hours, killer. At 4, we're leaving from the lobby to go to the branch. Dress like you normally do." Ruffnut said, walking the opposite direction of where Astrid knew she was going. Astrid nodded absently, knowing that her boss had simply assumed that she had heard, and went towards the near door, marked room _S6_.

Looking at the lock, she saw nowhere to put the card. Nowhere to slide it or insert it. How was she supposed to get inside? She stared at the card and flipped it over, seeing a diagram drawn into the back of it. After investigating it two or three times, she slowly flicked the card against the black pad. The door thudded and a green light shone at her, and she quickly pushed the handle down and pushed the door open.

Her mouth dropped open at the magnificent room she had walked into. Astrid had never spent time in a hotel room, much less a luxury one, but this place was beautiful. A huge living area, with couches and a loveseat, all arranged in front of a simply massive flat screen television covered most of the middle of the room. To her left side stood a kitchen, full sized with black marble counter tops and all the appliances looking sparkly and new. Just past the kitchen was an open door to a bedroom, and Astrid could already see a huge king sized bed, with a purple duvet and sheets, along with enough pillows to make a king jealous.

To her right, the soft carpet gave way to stone colored tiles, all converging around…a Jacuzzi!? She'd seen these on television, and in some movies she'd seen hotels rooms that have them inside, but those were always in exotic resorts on tropical islands. She had a Jacuzzi in her room! Astrid let the door finally close behind her and stepped slowly into the giant suite. This was all hers until they left Charlotte! She dropped her bag right there in the middle of the floor and went over to the Jacuzzi, running a hand along the sleek edge of the large tub. Instantly, she knew what was going to be doing with her two hours.

A half hour later saw her sinking into a scalding hot Jacuzzi, the jets running full bore on her body. A loud moan of pleasure escaped her as she felts the hot, rushing water start to soothe her muscles. She couldn't even remember the last time she took a bath, much less relaxed in a Jacuzzi. Their bathroom at home only had a shower, and they'd never been able to afford a bathtub. After this…she might be investing in one very soon.

Next to her, on the edge of the tub and on top of the large flat area that served as a table, sat a huge glass of soda and a bowl of grapes, all things she found in her kitchen, which apparently featured a fully stocked fridge. Her body slowly melting into a puddle of joyously relaxed muscles, her mind had refused to stop thinking about the changes in her life and how little control she had over them. She was taking classes at UNCC, yes, but even those had not really come of her own merits.

She just wished that she was more in control of her fate than she was. In a moment, Hiccup could simply fire her and she would once again be up the river without a paddle. She had to do anything she could to prevent that from happening. Taking the towel next to her, Astrid carefully dried her hands and picked up her phone. Fishlegs had guaranteed that the phones were waterproof, but she wanted to take no chances.

She opened the internet and got to Google, her fingers hovering above the keys on the screen. If she did this…she would do it without Ruffnut or Hiccup ever catching wind. She wasn't going to be ruled by luck any longer.

She steeled her resolve and typed _physical therapy certifications that do not require a degree._

* * *

Astrid had been part of cool things before. She'd been homecoming queen in high school. She'd swelled with pride when she accepted the championship trophy for her softball team back in middle school. She'd felt on top of the world when her class as UNCC realized that she was on a first name basis with the CEO of DragonTech Robotics.

However, all of those paled in comparison to the look on the receptionists face at the Boston branch of DragonTech when the group of them walked in, decked out in black and red clothing that no doubt costed thousands of dollars each. Anna had knocked on her door at exactly three fifteen and handed her a dry-cleaned uniform and conveyed that she was required to wear it. When she opened it, Astrid found a black blazer and a red silk shirt, along with black pants and heeled boots.

The shirt and jacket both had the dragon head symbol emblazoned above the right breast, and Astrid had been given two hair sticks, along with a barrette that took the shape of a dragon to put in her hair, as well as directions for how her hair should be done. Now, with her blonde strands curled into a tight bun, with the sticks crossed through it and the barrette sitting over the back of the bun itself, Astrid felt notable out of place. She wasn't a _director_ …but then again, nobody here knew that yet, and she looked every bit the part.

Ruffnut looked mostly like herself, hair still dropping halfway down her back in long dreads, but she'd traded her beanie for a surprise: a bowler. She wore a tuxedo, with a red shirt beneath, and the same heeled boots that Astrid had been given. Tuffnut looked nearly identical to his sister, except he wore shiny black dress shoes instead of boots.

Valka wore, astoundingly, a lavish dress with thick straps that went over her shoulders. The corset of the dress was red while the rest of the ensemble was black. On her each wrist, one black and one red bangle jingled against each other, over the top of exquisite looking gloves that covered her whole arm, up to just above her elbow. She wore thumb rings on each hand, and medium sized red hoop earrings. She walked in on the arm of Gobber, the large man done up in a simple tuxedo, red and black, with his normally brown glove replaced with a black one.

Fishlegs and Snotlout wore suits similar to Tuffnuts as well, minus the bowler hats, but Hiccup…Hiccup looked simply _amazing_. He wore a suit that was different to the others, most specifically that while the other men had their suits unbuttoned, Hiccup had his signature single button look, along with another blood red shirt. His hair had been washed thoroughly, straightened and pulled back into a tight pony tail. On his left wrist was a thick, black watch with a classical face and white hands.

On his left hand he wore three rings, on his index, middle and ring finger. All three were gold, but the rings on his middle and ring finger had gems while his index finger was just a solid band. His right hand had a solid black band on his ring finger, and a smaller solid band on his middle finger. All of the rings shined brightly as if they had just been polished, which there was a pretty good chance they had been. Really, she had never seen him so…done up before.

"C-can I help you?" The woman stammered, staring at them open mouthed.

Hiccup didn't waste any time. "Where can I find Eret?" He demanded, his stony cold voice sending shivers up Astrid's spine.

The receptionist pointed dumbly to the elevator. "9th floor Mr…"

"Haddock." Hiccup replied shortly, turning to go to the elevators while the poor receptionist spluttered behind her desk.

"Mr. Haddock!? Please, let me call Dra-"

"If you tell Drago that any of us are here, you'll be unemployed by dinner time," Hiccup growled loudly, not even turning around to look at the woman. Her face paled as all semblance of color drained from it. "Astrid, you and Rachel come with me." Immediately, Astrid scampered to follow the CEO, Ruffnut not far behind. "Scott, Trevor, Gary, Frank and Veronica, please check on your departments."

Astrid remained quiet as they waited for an elevator, just the three of them, while the other heads waited for their own lifts. Valka had remained at the desk and was speaking to a much calmer looking receptionist, and Astrid let a small smile flit to her face. Really, the poor lady had been caught off guard by Hiccup and his apparently still burning fury and deserved none of the lashing she just received. Judging by the soft way Valka was talking to her, Astrid assumed that the board member was telling the woman much the same thing.

Finally, the lifts arrived and the board got on them quietly. Once inside the elevator though, Hiccup spoke again, and Astrid winced. His tone had not changed, even a bit. "When we get to Eret's office, I want you two to go find someone."

"Who?" Ruffnut asked shortly.

"Don't know yet. We'll find out when we get there." Hiccup replied, and Astrid tried to shrink into her blazer. The intensity of this situation was…a lot to bear. How could she even say anything right now? It was clear who was in charge here, and it didn't look like Hiccup would be backing down from whatever he was here to do, even by a small margin. Still though…what he did downstairs bothered her.

"What you did downstairs wasn't fair." Her voice, though small in volume, sounded loud in the enclosed, quiet elevator. "She didn't deserve to have her job threatened." Astrid fought the urge to tremble in her boots, knowing that her words could turn things volatile in a moment. Hiccup twitched his head to the side, barely enough that Astrid could see that he was nearly looking back at her.

"I can't have Drago knowing that we are here before I have my evidence."

"Better ways to do that than threatening an employee." Astrid replied, gaining some confidence one she saw that Hiccup didn't explode. A look to the side showed her that Ruffnut was staring at her, an incredulous look at her face.

"I own this company. I can do what I want."

"Then do the fair thing." She retorted sharply.

Hiccup's head returned to looking straight forward. "You're right." He said, just as the doors opened. The workers gathered on the other side stared at the trio as they walked off the elevator, strides long and with purpose. In a word, Astrid would say that they struck an intimidating group, even without Hiccup's anger being expressed, and that would most likely play to their advantage.

They finally arrived at a room, labelled with a name plaque. Eric Tallman "Eret" was shown there, in blocky black letters on the opaque glass door. Hiccup pulled the handle and the door itself, opening it and allowing Astrid and Ruffnut to enter before him. Sitting behind a large desk was a tall man, fairly muscled and broad, but not fat. His hair was brushed back and fell to about the middle of his neck. He had a thick chin and large hands, but his eyes were a light hazel and kind.

When they came in, he got up from his desk, a smile on his face. "What can I do for you?" He asked politely. Astrid and Ruff glanced at each other before stepping aside and letting Hiccup come in. Eret must not have recognized him, because he only extended a hand. "What can I do for you, then?"

Hiccup shook the hand stonily. "You voiced some concerns about Drago. I'm here to settle things."

It took a whole, agonizing minute, but when the realization of whose hand he was shaking hit Eret, his mouth dropped. "O-o-oh! Mr. Haddock!? You uh…you came! I could've sworn I only sent that email…"

"Yesterday," Hiccup finished for him. "I don't take things like this lightly. Now, your concerns?"

Eret took another moment to process the information before sputtering and hurrying behind his desk. "Oh yes! So, I've been interviewing female employees here and I believe that Drago is blackmailing them for sex." Astrid noted that, just like the receptionist downstairs, Eret was completely thrown by Hiccup's sudden appearance and was doing his best to compensate.

Hiccup sat down in the chair in front of Eret's desk, his brow furrowing and lips pursing. "You said as much in your email. Give me a name. I only need one. One who is most likely to be forthcoming."

Eret leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his desk and folding his hands together. "The most recent female to begin going to his office. She's a physical therapist here. Mulan Li. You'll find her on the fourteenth floor."

Hiccup waved a hand and Ruffnut grabbed Astrid's arm and pulled her from the office. Silently, the two of them went back through the halls to the elevators. When a lift arrived and they got in, Ruffnut turned to her. "You've got the biggest balls of anyone I've ever met, killer. Nobody on the board has ever called Hiccup out like that. Not when he's in this mood. That was risky. Now, it was awesome, and I'm actually really impressed that you took the chance, but think again before taking the stand against him."

Astrid shook her head, pushing Ruffnut back away from her a bit to get some breathing room. "Come on! That lady downstairs didn't deserve that at all!"

Ruffnut shrugged. "I'm aware of that, but I'll be straight with you: I'd rather her get fired than you. Hiccup is really good with giving people chances that they wouldn't get elsewhere, but this is still business. Now, lucky us I know the head of physical therapy here pretty well. We used to skydive together."

Astrid couldn't help the chuckle that emanated from her. "Of course, your friends come from doing something crazy."

"Yeah dude. You only meet crazy people by doing crazy things. Anyway, his name is Mickey Murphy. Real solid dude. He's into wingsuit stuff now." The lift opened on the fourteenth floor and Astrid was taken back into the world that she knew. The rooms and things happening here were quite familiar to her, and she actually found that she was enjoying seeing a branch other than the one in Charlotte. She did notice that the equipment was all the same as the stuff they had back home, if maybe a bit older.

Things were designed generally the same, apart from a few spots here and there, mainly due to the fact that the building was a bit smaller here. Astrid really wasn't fond of the way that people gawked at them as they walked, but she shrugged it off. She would only be here for a while, and then she'd go back to normalcy.

Ruffnut took Astrid to a large therapy room and knocked on the door, walking in at the same time, almost exactly how she would do it back home. "Mushu!" She called loudly. In the room, a tall man with dark blue eyes and wavy brownish red hair looked up, a giant smile on his face.

"Ragin' Ruffnut!" He laughed, getting up from behind his desk and walking over. "What are you doing here?" Ruffnut bumped fists with him and stepped aside.

"One sec, bro. This is Astrid Hofferson. She's m-"

"Second Director, I see. Gimme the gossip, woman. Who screwed up?"

Ruffnut pulled Astrid into the room and shut the door. "It's more who screwed _who_ , Mushu. Eret contacted Hiccup directly about Drago."

Mushu snapped his fingers loudly. "I knew it! Let me guess, you're here about Mulan?"

Astrid cocked her head in surprise. "You know what's been happening?"

The man nodded, heading back over and dropped down into his chair. "Me and Eret have been working behind the scenes together to pin Drago. We had nothing solid until Mulan became a victim. She's the only one of the woman Drago's blackmailing who's not single. Made it _real_ easy to figure that something was up. Let me get her in here to talk to you guys." He pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Hey. Come on over to my room. Please? Thanks." He put the phone down and returned his gaze to them. "She's on her way over. When did you guys get in, Ruff?"

Ruffnut, who had decided that laying down on Mushu's medical bed was a fantastic idea now, waved a hand absently. "This morning, actually. Hiccup is real fired up and flew us out immediately. I almost literally yanked Astrid out of bed this morning."

Mushu laughed and gave Astrid an apologetic shrug. "I respect you for working under Ruffnut this long without trying to kill her at least twice."

Astrid furrowed her brow in confusion. "Twice?"

Muchu snickered. "Well, I can't blame you for one attempted murder on her. That's about normal." The two of them laughed while Ruffnut spit out a stream of vicious insults and threats that she would never carry out. While they laughed, there was a knock on the door, and Mushu yelled for them to come in.

The woman who came in was clearly of Asian descent, probably Chinese, with shoulder length black hair. She wore a white tee shirt and yoga pants with a distinct white and blue tiger print, and blue trainers on her feet. "Mushu? You wanted to see me?"

He waved her in. "Yeah Mulan. You know the thing you told me and Eret about?" Instantly, Astrid noted how her kind gaze fell into a gloomy shadow. Her eyes darkened and her shoulders sagged. It looked pitiful, and she felt a pang of anger and sympathy fly through her. "These two are here to take care of it. This is Rachel Thorston and Astrid Hofferson from Headquarters in Charlotte."

Mulan put on a clearly false brave face, only clear to Astrid because she had done it a million times herself and knew exactly what it looked like, and came to shake their hands. "Mulan Li. Nice to meet you. I uh…I know that you want me to tell you what _he_ did to me…"

Ruffnut sat up. "Nope. All we want is a shred of evidence. Phone call, note, anything."

Mulan bit her lip and looked down at the ground for a moment. "I don't have anything..."

Ruffnut scrunched up her face. "Well fuck…nothing we can do about that." Before Mulan could answer, Mushu was up on his feet.

"You told me that you had some smoking gun to put Drago away!"

"I wanted you to _do_ something! Anything! Nobody was helping us!" She responded sharply. Astrid stepped in then, taking Mulan's hand and pulling her back to the door and out into the hall. She met Ruff's eyes only barely and saw nothing there that said to stop, so she ran with her plan.

"Take me to your therapy room," She half asked, half demanded of the woman. Mulan nodded and walked away briskly, Astrid following close behind. Neither of them said anything until reaching another therapy room, smaller than Astrid's and with almost no machines in it.

Mulan went over and jumped onto the counter. "This is an empty room right now…what do you want?"

Astrid closed the door quietly and took the sticks and barrette out of her hair, pulling it free. "I want to talk to you. I'm not a director. Just another physical therapist, like you."

The woman scoffed. "How can you expect me to believe that? Just because you let your hair down?" Astrid considered the statement and decided that, yes, it was a bit naïve to assume that letting her hair down made her an entirely different person.

"Alright, I'll give you that, but seriously. I'm not on the Board of Directors. I'm sorta Ruffnut's favorite, so she brought me along on this trip…"

Mulan glared, suddenly her eyes speaking hatred in volumes. "You're fucking someone on the board!? How can you help me at all!?" She shrieked, jumping down from the counter and making for the door.

Astrid threw her hands up, jumping in the woman's way. "No, no, no, no! I'm straight! Not having sex with Ruffnut! Please, just hear me out!" Astrid yelled. For a few silent, tense moments, she thought Mulan would just continue and leave, but something made the woman turn back. She slowly leaned back against the medical bed and crossed her arms.

"Fine…talk."

For the next twenty minutes, Astrid told Mulan her story, leaving out the particularly personal bits of course. Throughout, she noted the times where Mulan's face would soften or fall. By the time she finished, with them walking through the front doors today, the woman's firm expression was gone and replaced by one of kindness.

"Sorry about not believing you, Astrid. I'm just…so angry…"

"He violated you. It ma-"

"Not about him, Astrid," She mumbled. "About myself. I'm a married woman. Shang is overseas with his team, fighting for this country…and I was here…and I fucked that man…" Her voice broke then, and Astrid pulled her into a firm embrace, letting her cry on her shoulder. "I-I c-couldn't fight h-him! I should've…I should've been able to push him away and say no…but I f-froze…I coul…I couldn't do anything…"

Astrid just held the poor woman, saying nothing, just to give her some support. If her husband was away with the military, then she might have no emotional support at all and she definitely needed some. From the way they were standing, Astrid had a view of the door when it slowly opened and her detail, Anna, came inside, no longer dressed like a guard and dressed like a normal civilian. She must have been inside the building the whole time. Astrid just waved her away, figuring that the guard was checking on her when she heard the crying.

The crying slowed to just a light sob before Mulan extricated herself from Astrid's arms, a grateful but still sad smile on her face. "Thank you, Astrid…I needed that…but I'm sorry. All I can give you is my honest word that Drago is blackmailing me."

Astrid pulled her into a hug again. "That's fine…we'll figure it out, but Drago will never touch you again."

* * *

Astrid was nervous. Nervous as all hell, and in the giant, empty building, that feeling was magnified. Hiccup had shut down the entire branch and sent every single employee home. Including janitors and any maintenance workers. The only people left in the entire place was the party that Hiccup brought with him, including the security team, and Drago, who was sitting alone inside a large conference room, waiting for them to arrive. Really, at this point of things, Astrid didn't think she needed to be in the room, but as part of the group that came, she assumed that they would just tell her that it was part of her responsibilities.

At the moment, they were only waiting for Fishlegs to return with something, and then they would go inside and confront this man. Astrid felt a sharp stab of anger whenever she thought about him, and especially what he did to Mulan. She felt bad for the other women that he forced into sex as well, but Mulan was the only one that Astrid had any sort of personal connection with, and that was only because she'd taken the time to go and talk to the woman.

Ruffnut had commended her for taking Mulan away from her and Mushu earlier, saying that it was exactly the right thing to do in that situation and that's what she'd been brought for. Really, Astrid didn't like the idea that she was brought specifically to get information out of people. It felt…sleazy to her. She talked to Mulan because she legitimately felt bad about what had happened, not because she wanted a definitively get an answer out of the poor woman.

"Ready Hiccup," Astrid looked up and saw Fishlegs walking towards them, a large document in his hands. Valka took the document from him as soon as he walked up, and the entire group made for the conference room. Kristoff was standing, stock still, his hands clasped in front of himself, in front of the room doors, and he stepped aside so they could enter. Inside, Drago sat on one side of the table, and Elsa sat on the other.

Meeting her was an experience for Astrid, half because the woman was stunningly beautiful, even moreso than in that picture Kristoff showed her, and half because her icy, hard as steel glare was incredibly intimidating. It was extremely hard to speak to her without automatically reverting to a child speaking to their parent.

"Thanks, Elsa. We can take it from here." Hiccup said. Elsa got up and nodded, leaving the chair open for Hiccup to sit in. The rest of them filled in around the table, and Astrid finally got a look at this Derek Bloomfield.

Really, he looked like the type of man who would be terrible, in general. He had long, scraggly black hair that looked tangled and dirty, and a scarred face with sunken, almost black eyes. Long thin lips set in a nearly evil scowl, and broad shoulders, slumped over. He glared at them from where he sat, his scowl radiating hatred. "What do you want, Hiccup? Why did you shut down my buildi-"

"It's _my_ fucking building, Drago!" Hiccup roared, startling Astrid so badly that she flinched, jumping suddenly. Nobody seemed to care that she had however, because Hiccup's sudden flare of anger continued. "What the hell have you been doing here!?"

Drago sneered. "Nothing, _Harry_ ," Astrid drew back at the condescending way that Drago said Hiccup's real name. "Only doing exactly what your idiot father asked of me."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, his jaw flexing as he clenched his teeth. "My father never told you to blackmail and fuck your employees!" Astrid couldn't believe that Drago would say something about the CEO's father that way!

Drago leaned back in his chair, a disgustingly confident grin on his face. "I have never done any such thing." He shrugged, challenging Hiccup to do anything about it. Astrid wondered what was going to happen now because, she wasn't sure they actually had any evidence. Hiccup had sent her and Ruffnut to speak to Mulan, but as nice as the woman was, she provided nothing apart from personal testimony.

The terrible Head of the branch then leaned forward, placing his hands on the desk and rising from his seat. "And…even if I did do that, you have no proof. Seems weakness runs in the Haddock line." He growled.

Astrid realized that at the moment, she was struggling to even remember to breath. The intensity and anger flooding the room was buffeting, and she could only see this whole situation ending horribly. A short glance around the table saw all the heads steaming with barely concealed fury, all except for Fishlegs. The larger director had a confident smile on his face as he leaned forward in his own chair.

"Lucky for us, Drago, stupidity runs in yours. You seem to have forgotten about the surveillance clause in your own contract."

Drago narrowed his eyes. "What clause? Surveillance?"

Fishlegs nodded. "I understand that you have been the head of the Boston branch for thirteen years. I imagine in that time that you have become quite arrogant in your position here, and thus stopped reading your contract changes probably…what, three years ago?"

Astrid quietly wondered exactly what was going on, not sure why someone would not read a contract, and even then, she wasn't sure why contracts would have a "surveillance" clause. However, whatever this clause was, it appeared to have triggered something in Drago's mind, because his confident grin had become nothing short of a hateful glare. "What are you talking about!?"

Valka stood up, smoothing her dress down and picking up the file set in front of her. "As of January 1, 2011, every Head of every department of DragonTech Robotics shall have his/her office monitored on a twenty four hour basis. Should this clause be disputed, DragonTech Robotics is willing and prepared to discuss the terms, however, to uphold the requirements of office of Head, every Head office shall be monitored in a substantial method." She read smoothly before sitting back down.

Nearby, Snotlout stood up and held up a memory drive. "We have you on video and audio blackmailing your employees for sex, Drago. What kind of idiot would not read contractual updates?"

Drago slammed his hands on the table, scornfully baring his teeth. "None of you realize what it means to be in power! You must take what you want! How can you fools be so blind to it!? This company can make us the most powerful people in the world, but you squander your wealth on the unworthy and unlucky! They are no better than cattle! No better than whores on the str-" His body suddenly convulsed and dropped hard to the table, unceremoniously sliding off of it into a heap on the floor.

Anna stood behind him, her taser still in hand and still shocking the large man. "He stinks…wow…oh…Hiccup?"

The tension in the room began to dissipate, but Hiccup's anger did not. "What is it?" He growled.

Anna, seemingly unconcerned with the CEO's brevity, pointed down. "His arm fell off. Can I throw it out the window?"

* * *

Astrid sat in the Jacuzzi in her room, Ruffnut sitting across from her and Tuffnut lazing around to her left. They had come back from the branch yesterday and since then, Astrid had not heard from Hiccup, Fishlegs or Valka. According to the Thorstons, the three of them were knee deep in managing the Boston branch until a replacement for the now imprisoned Derek Bloomfield. The whole thing had been tense, yes, but in a way…anti-climactic. Astrid had assumed that there would be an hour of back and forth, reasons and counter-reasons, but that didn't happen. Oh no. They went in, Drago spit some acid at them, Hiccup fired back, and then it was over.

Which left Astrid feeling a bit…used. "I still don't get it, Ruff," She grumbled. "Why did I have to come for this? Why did we have to go find Mulan and force her into telling us stuff if you guys knew that his office was rigged with camera's and listening devices?"

Tuffnut decided to answer, seeing as Ruffnut simply rolled her eyes. "Dude, for the ninth time, we honestly didn't think Drago was dumb enough to have not messed with the recordings. We didn't anticipate that he didn't even know they were friggen there. So, sorry, but at least you get a few days' vacation, so just chill out."

Ruffnut kicked Astrid gently in the water. "Besides killer, you won major brownie points on this trip. I wouldn't be surprised if Hiccup promoted you."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow. "Promoted me? To what?"

"Floor lead," Tuffnut answered for his sister. "Every floor has a lead. Someone who makes sure operations are up to stuff. Best part is, there are no requirements for floor lead other than whoever Hiccup decides is good enough for it."

Astrid shook her head, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes, groaning. "That means somebody already has the job, and they've probably worked at DragonTech longer than me, an-"

"Helga Sinclair was the floor lead for the 23rd." Ruffnut interjected, killing Astrid's protests. "Just say the word, Astrid, and I'll tell him you don't want it. I don't know why you're so against moving up and all that. Fuckin' weird if you ask me, but whatever. Do you want the spot or not?"

Astrid thought about everything that had happened, and everything that could happen the further this goes. The further involved with the Board of Directors she got, the more she would be put in situations like this. However, the further involved with them she got, the more pull with them she could claim. The more possibility that lady luck won't try to shoot her in the back. Being closer to them might draw some harsh words from people, but so far…they'd protected her. What's to say they wouldn't do the same again?

She sighed. "I suppose I'll take it if he offers it."

Ruffnut snickered. "Well, I already know that he wants you to take it. Nobody else on the 23rd has any issues with you either. In fact, most of them really like you."

Astrid cast an unamused glance over at her boss. "And how would you know that, Madam Fortune-Teller?"

Ruff splashed some water at her. "As cool as it would be to be able to tell fortunes, I sent out an anonymous survey to everyone else on your floor and asked about you. That's the feedback I got, so I doubt anyone will have any problems at all with you being floor lead." Astrid sank further into the hot water, internally yelling at herself for assuming that there was any chance that Hiccup and Ruffnut didn't have everything figured out already long before she even knew.

Later that night, Astrid lay in her simply massive bed, browsing the internet on her phone. She'd already found several unique certifications she could get without having to have a four year degree, and on top of that one of them came with an electronic textbook she could read on her own time. While there was still a little bit of guilt involved with her being fully aware that she planned to get all this done behind Ruff and Hiccup's back, another part of her felt empowered by it. She was going to be taking command, and she loved the feeling it gave her.

Maybe…maybe she could talk to some of her professors at UNCC and see if they knew of any promising opportunities. Most of them would probably require a degree, but maybe there was something she could do as an internship. That would be fun. An internship.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked it!**

 **Now, let me reach out to my female readers (or male readers who happen to be really up on female fashion) Can you inform me about what is considered high end formal wear for women nowadays? What brand would your dream formal dinner gown come from? I would really appreciate some fashion education from any of my female readers! (Or male who is super fashionable, either or!) I don't really know the first thing about women's fashion.**

 **Reviews much appreciated! Remember, double update coming Wednesday morning!**


	13. Chapter 13

**And so here we are! As promised to you wonderful readers, this is the first part of a double upload! I will put everything I need to right here, because I believe you will not want to take a break from the flow of things to read another AN before chapter 14!**

 **To mine readers who have been awaiting the Hiccstrid, it is here! Kinda. This is the start of things. I will say that things will start of alright, get horribly confusing, and then get better again. No fear. I shall guide you through these times.**

 **If you have ANY questions or critical observations, PLEASE pm me or leave in a review. I am always prepared to improve my writing and clear up any issues you may have. Please, enjoy this double upload! Chapters 13 and 14 y'all!**

 **I AM POSTING THIS AT 11:45 PM ON TUESDAY NIGHT! CHAPTER 14 WILL GO UP IN THE MORNING, PROBABLY BEFORE 10 AM!**

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The weeks melted off, and Astrid was just starting to recover normalcy at school and in her life. Ever since the trip with the class, it had been circulated that she worked at DragonTech. Being absent for the next week wasn't a great help either, and the fame, or infamy, was overwhelming her. More and more often, she had students coming up and asking her about putting in good word for them at the company, that maybe they could land a job there. When she finally snapped and demanded to know why they thought she could do that, she was taken off guard.

"Rumor says that you're dating the CEO. Is that true?" A fucking sentence she had heard so much up to this point that she was tearing her hair out about it. Who could have told them that she was dating Hiccup? It wasn't Heather, she knew that. The girl was so damn star struck by him that she could barely stop talking about meeting him, much less have time to spread rumors that Astrid was dating him.

Dr. Parr was still an odd case. She regarded Astrid with a new type of accepted dismissal now. She graded Astrid's work as harshly as she could, and yet still she couldn't drop her any lower than an A. It didn't bother the blonde that much, seeing as all her work was correct, but it was just disturbing. Despite that, nothing could diminish her good mood for this week. It was time for Thanksgiving!

This year was going to be great. No matter how tight money was for them these past two years, and even before that, they always had a big Thanksgiving meal. Always. They made a big turkey, and a honey ham, with all the sides in the world. Mashes potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, anything they could afford went into the meal. It was a great family time.

And even better, she had heard from Ruffnut that not only does Hiccup pay over Thanksgiving, but he also gives _everyone_ three days off! The day before, the day and then the day after were free days for everyone at headquarters, and they had the choice to come into work or not. All that, and then add in the fact that Astrid could enjoy Thanksgiving without the looming depression of knowing that right after, it was back to work her ass off for little to no money. She still worked her ass off, but it was for a whole lot more now.

She sat in her therapy room, having just finished with a patient, and she was putting the information for the new treatment plan into her laptop. Ruffnut sat on the counter, having chosen to oversee the appointment. The head never came in anymore to supervise, but now she came in to watch for fun. Also, there were times that she threw in little bits of advice here and there.

"Big plans for turkey day?" The head asked, crunching into an apple she had inexplicably come into possession of. Somehow, Astrid suspected the it was the apply that had been sitting in her fridge not twenty minutes ago.

"Dinner with my mom and brother!" Astrid answered with a bright smile. Just the prospect of the family holiday could make her day worth it. "You?" She glanced over to the counter. Tattooed shoulders shrugged.

"Me and Tuff heading to Montana to spend it with the extended family. All said and done I think there is going to be fifteen or twenty of us. It's gonna suck." Astrid cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was so keen on going if it was going to be like that.

"Why is that?"

"Think about it, doofus. Yeah, we might be family and all, but think about twenty versions of me and Tuff, stretching from the ages of five to eighty seven and at varying stages of insanity, at a single table. Just getting us all to the table in time to eat is gonna blow." Astrid laughed lightly, shaking her head as she turned back to her computer. She would never understand how Ruff and Tuff think. The two twins had moments where they literally looked and acted like drug addicted hippies. Then, Tuff goes off on the intricacies of a machine, and she's lost in a second.

"Whatever you say, Ruff. Hey, what does Hiccup do for Thanksgiving?" She had been silently wondering how the CEO spent his holidays. Halloween was barely recognizable at the DragonTech headquarters, so she had to know what her boss's boss did for more serious holidays.

"He sits here and works." Ruffnut answered simply, biting into her apple again. Astrid spun in her chair, facing her mentor again, her face scrunched in disbelief. She knew that Hiccup's work ethic kept DragonTech on top, but that was going a bit far.

"Really? He doesn't go and see family or anything?"

Ruffnut shook her head, waving a tattooed arm around her. "Hiccups old man was his only immediate family. He died. Hiccup doesn't do anything for Thanksgiving, because he doesn't have anyone to do it with. I invited him to come to the Thorstons for it once, but…let's just say it didn't go well."

Astrid winced, almost too reluctant to ask, but she did anyway. "What happened?"

"Sixteen year old cousin tried to convince everyone she was pregnant with his baby." Ruffnut answered, as if it was just a normal occurrence. Astrid's look of horror drew a rambunctious laugh out of the head. "It wasn't true, so relax. Your boy toy isn't taken."

Astrid's neck and face ignited at the very thought of Hiccup being hers, and she turned away furiously. Why would Ruffnut come out and say something like that!? Had…had she somehow seen Astrid whispering to him when the class was here? Impossible. She wasn't even on the same floor when that happened! Was she guessing this from how Astrid was chasing Hiccup after Helga Sinclair was fired? Was she just being normal Ruffnut and poking random fun? Nothing happened in Boston to indicate anything…unless Astrid standing up to him meant anything.

She fought down her blush and put on a fake smile, hoping that Ruffnut hadn't noticed her momentary panic. She rotated her chair again, slamming shut a drawer in the hopes that her mentor would think she had been digging through it.

"How is he not taken?" She ventured, hoping to sound as incredulous as she wanted to. Somewhere inside, she was glad that he wasn't, although why she couldn't say.

"Women only want him for his money. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that he's loaded." In a roundabout way, she did need to be told that. Hiccup didn't wear any outward signs of his wealth, other than the watches. Even his suits are more on the casual side, though they still probably cost enough to make her faint. She didn't actually know what car he drove either, so apart from his penthouse, the only sign that he gave that he personally was wealthy were those watches. What was so special about those watches?

"So he doesn't do anything for Thanksgiving? No dinner?" She asked, glad to feel that her face had returned to normal temperature after Ruffnut's wild claim. The head nodded, crunching into her apple again.

"Yep. He's a lonely, lonely man on holidays, trust me." She tossed the apple into a trashcan in the corner. "Alright, well, I've got to go get Tuff and start packing. See you later…" Astrid panicked slightly. She knew what she was thinking was borderline ridiculous, and probably overstepping her bounds by a lot, but she couldn't imagine someone being alone on a day like Thanksgiving. If he had nobody to spend it with, then she might as well try.

"Ruff!" Astrid yelled quickly, catching the woman's ear as her form disappeared through the door. The head stuck her head back in, her eyes curious. Astrid bit her lip in indecision. She knew she had to ask now that she had gotten her boss's attention.

"C-can you have him come see me? I want to ask him something."

"Who is this now?" Ruffnut asked with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk pulling at her lips. Astrid ignored her.

"Hiccup."

The head came back into the room, waltzing up to Astrid's desk and grabbing a pen as well as a piece of paper. She scribbled something down on it. "Call him yourself. That's his cell number." She said before bounding out of the room. Astrid ignored her antics as she stared at the number on the piece of paper. She had his phone number. Why did this feel so…private?

For what felt like an eternity, Astrid read the number over and over, imagining what it meant that she had his number. She knew, from the now seven months that she had worked at DragonTech, that Hiccup's personal cell number was a secret that he himself had locked away to anyone other than the heads. If anyone wanted to get in touch with him, they had to go through one of the heads.

But…now _she_ had it. She, a physical therapist without a degree who had been here less than a year, had his personal cell number sitting in her hands. It felt like she was being inducted into a secret club of some sorts. Of course, she'd gone to Boston and all that, and she probably had more interaction with the board than most, but still. She checked her schedule and noted that there weren't any patients who were coming in for at least another two hours. As is she needed two hours to make this call.

She took out her phone and dialed the number quickly, as if the paper was going to disintegrate before she got the whole number onto her phone. When that was done, she sat there and stared at it again. Now, it wasn't written on a piece of paper, but it was on her phone screen. The green symbol for call sat just below her hovering thumb.

What could come of such a call? Would he be furious that she somehow got his jealously guarded number? Even when she went to Boston, Astrid wasn't allowed to have it. Would he turn around and fire both her and Ruffnut for the lack of discipline and the encroachment of privacy? How terrible would his retribution be? This thought seemed to not sway her as she gently touched the button and put the phone to her ear.

"Hiccup." Hearing his voice through the cell phone sent odd tingles through her, tingles that she didn't know what to do with. At least it wasn't the stone cold snap of a whip that his voice had been in Boston.

"Uh…hey Hiccup…its Astrid…"

"Astrid? Oh…well, how are you?" His voice sounded strangely monotone for his usual banter. Well, the banter that she had been privy too. It wasn't like she spent time with him every day. In fact, she had only ever seen him when there was something to be done or taken care of. In those times though, his voice always carried some tone, some emotion. Not now though, which put her off.

"Okay, I guess…I wanted to ask you something."

"I'm listening." Again, his tone was dead and flat. Not angry…just…flat. Lifeless. She shivered at the thought of him being upset because she called him.

"So, Thanksgiving is coming up and all, and Ruffnut and I were talking about plans, and she said that you don't do anything…so…I guess I wanted to ask if you would like to spend Thanksgiving with me and my family?" She hurried to get the words out, fearing that he might hang up on her after hearing such an offer from one of his employees.

"Thanksgiving dinner with your family?" He asked. Astrid closed her eyes, knowing already where this was going. When people repeated the question with that tone of disbelief, it always meant something always.

"What should I wear?" Her eyes snapped open when his voice happily rose with the question. A grin spread across her face, and she could barely contain her happiness. He accepted! Oh this was fantastic! They would have to make all sorts of preparations! She had to find out if he wanted anything specific. Wait, what if he was allergic to something? She had to know that too, an-

"DragonTech to Astrid…" His voice echoed into her ear again and pulled her from her thoughts.

"What? Oh! Oh…hey…what did you ask?" She requested sheepishly, knowing that she must have been coming across as a silly little fangirl.

"What should I wear?" His voice was normal and full again, and Astrid silently hoped that it wasn't only her offer of dinner that was making him happy to have Thanksgiving with her and her family.

"Oh! You know just…something casual."

* * *

Astrid kicked herself later for not remembering that Hiccup's version of casual was vastly different from normal people's version of casual. Her version of casual, at least casual for a guy, was a nice collared shirt with some jeans or khaki's and clean shoes. Throw in a bit of cologne so they don't smell like a barn stall, and voila! Casual.

Now, _Hiccup's_ version of casual was arriving in a black sports car that probably cost more than their house, and stepping out of said luxury vehicle in a suit that probably cost more than both the family cars combined. The black suit was very much the same as the others she had seen him wear. This time, a single button in the middle was done, leaving an orange button up shirt, probably silk, with three buttons at the neck undone. He seemed be quite fond of that look, which she couldn't fault him for. He looked _very_ nice like that…not that she had been noticing.

His suit tapered down to shiny black shoes, which clicked on the driveway as he walked. As usual, an incredibly exotic, onyx colored watch sat on his wrist with a segmented strap of the same color. Black, in all things, seemed to be his color of choice. She was standing on the porch when she saw his car, and she did notice that stares of her neighbors when he pulled into her driveway. Luke sat next to her in his chair, and to say that she was just a little proud that he was here because of her would be an understatement.

"Whoa! Harry, that car is so cool!" Luke gushed, sliding easily down the ramp that they had installed for him. Although Luke knew that it had been the Harry from the mall that was her CEO, the two of them had not met again until now. Hiccup smirked at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Maybe after dinner we'll take a drive." He offered. Astrid had to laugh as her brothers eyes widened to saucer size.

"R-really?" He stuttered, and the boy had never looked so happy in his life. Hiccup nodded exuberantly.

"Of course. After dinner though." He reached back into the car and brought out a bouquet of flowers, much to Astrids surprise, and left the fourteen year old to look in awe at the vehicle, climbing up the steps to stand in front of Astrid. He offered them to her.

"For you and your mother." He said sweetly, and she accepted them with a smile of her own, feeling a wonderful tingle as his hand brushed along hers during the exchange. She brought them to her face and took a deep inhale, loving the sweet smell of flowers in the fall. She looked around him at Luke for a moment, simply checking to make sure that he wasn't damaging that car, but it got Hiccups attention in another way.

"I uh…I brought something else for Luke." He said cautiously, and Astrid chose not to guess at what it was.

"Thanks for coming…" She said softly, leading him into the house. She had been a martyr for the past two days, getting this place cleaned and spotless for his presence. She knew it had been annoying to her mom and Luke, because she literally freaked out if something was out of place when she had specifically put it somewhere. Most of the food was already cooked and set out in warming trays to keep it hot.

The ham was already finished and warming, but the turkey was still in the oven, and the whole house smelled like roasted bird. They went into the kitchen, where her mother was checking on the turkey, Hiccup's shoes clicking loudly on the floor. Astrid went over and nudged her mother on the shoulder. The woman turned around and gasped at the beautiful flowers.

"He brought them for you and I." Astrid said with another small smile to the man standing there. Her mom fixed him with a discerning gaze. The woman smiled and thanked him before snapping her eyes between him and the flowers. A soft smirk crossed her face, and if Astrid had noticed, she would have questioned her mother on what the hell was going on in her head.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Haddock." She said politely, holding out a hand. Hiccup took it graciously, smiling all the same.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Hofferson." He bowed to her and kissed her hand, and looked damn good doing it. Astrid noted with some amusement that her mother blushed. Something she was not prone to doing.

"Please, just Ingrid." She laughed. He gave her a winning grin.

"Only if you call me Hiccup." He laughed. Astrid had to admit as her mother began chatting amiably to him that Hiccup was smooth. Very professional, and very polite. But this polite was different to the polite she had seen at work. His exchange with her mother right there flowed like water from him. No pausing. No inflection. Just words and a smile. It was different to the polite that he showed when her class was there. This was genuine polite. The kind of nice that normal people did.

* * *

The four of them sat around the table, plates empty and stomachs full. The turkey had been torn to shreds, and the ham wasn't far behind. Astrid had colored herself surprised, because Hiccup put away far more food than she thought he would be able to with his frame. He wasn't small, not by any means, but he didn't look like he could eat _half_ the ham himself. Which he had done. With no qualms.

Dinner was fantastic. While the beginning was a little off, mostly because the Hoffersons were trying to play very polite with Hiccup. He must have sensed it, because in a single swift move, he ended all thoughts that he intended this to be similar to a business dinner. Smoothly, he took a wad of mashed potatoes into his spoon, bent it back, and fired a potato missile at Luke. The wad of mushed plant smacked wetly into Luke's forehead and, in shock, he only stared.

Hiccup smirked at the boy, silently daring him to do something. Luke had narrowed his eyes at the man, and completely contradictory to his CEO position and the unspoken expectations, Hiccup had mouthed 'bring it'. The brief food fight that followed had brought smiles to all their faces, and it went on until Hiccup broke a lamp. He promised to pay for it, but the food fight had done exactly what he had meant it to.

It lightened the mood enough for them to simply enjoy themselves, and Astrid had let herself loose, now sure that Hiccup would hold nothing against her as her boss. The meal was continued with the sharing of stories, both funny and embarrassing, from both sides. Astrid was surprised at the amount of stories that Hiccup told that they could relate to. Again, she had thought that his stories would be about expensive places and expensive things. While some of them were indeed about travel, it wasn't like he was talking about five star hotels and other things like that.

The table was quickly cleared, and now they sat with drinks, talking lightly about things. Astrid was sure that it was one of the better Thanksgivings they had ever had, only trumped by one that had taken place when she was ten. Luke was still a baby then, and it was the first time that he had really been able to participate in the dinner.

"So…" Hiccup leaned forward, his eyes set on Luke. "Tell me…how is school?" Astrid saw her brother's eyes drop at the mention of his high school and the state of things there. The tortures that he had undergone at the hands of other ruthless teenagers had not stopped. In fact, as more time passed, they had only increased in intensity and volume. It got so bad that he had been suspended once for throwing a punch.

Of course, the boy who had been antagonizing him for hours on end had gotten no punishment at all, which made Astrid even more furious. There was no justice nowadays, and the children who were more popular often got away with their bullshit. Not when she was in high school. When she was in high school, the teachers had very little power, and shit was decided by the students.

"It sucks," Luke said, very matter-of-factly. "The kids are ass holes and the teachers just help them. It's alright though. My little crew and I get by alright."

"Your crew?" The CEO pondered curiously, a hand on his chin. Luke nodded.

"Yeah. Seeing as I'm not very…mobile, we tend to talk about video games and stuff like that. I didn't play much…well…now I do, but before I didn't, but it was still fun. We're like a crew of nerds." He explained. Astrid thought fondly of the day she offered to buy him the latest game console. Being so sensitive about his lack of mobility and all that, he loved playing games and didn't feel guilty about it.

Hiccup nodded, and Astrid noted a curious light in his eye. Not curious as in he was curious…but like he was planning something. "I see. Well, Luke, tell me something else: what do you know about experimental technology?"

Her brother's eyes got wide. "Experimental technology? It sounds cool! Uh…what is it, exactly?" Her and her mother's eyes were like those of tennis spectators. They silently watched as Hiccup asked, and Luke answered.

"Experimental technology is, as its name suggests, technology that is in the experimentation stage of development."

Luke looked away, shame on his face. "Oh…well…I shoulda known that…" Astrid sighed quietly, seeing Luke's newfound insecurity of his own abilities rearing its ugly head. To her relief, Hiccup axed that in one fell swoop.

"Don't be silly. That was the simple explanation. The more focused explanation is this: experimental technology has two major forms: laboratory and field." Hiccup explained. "Laboratory experiments are done in?"

"A lab?" Luke ventured. Hiccup nodded, a smile on his face. Astrid cocked an interested eyebrow. Even she had trouble getting Luke to cooperate on listening to things like this.

"Good. Field experiments are?"

Luke smiled widely. "Experiments done in public, like, with people!" Hiccup grinned.

"Excellent. That is correct. Now, field experiments with technology often refers to people testing the product that is the subject of the experiment. For example, a field experiment with a new car would involve people being chosen at random to drive it. Do you understand?" Astrid shared a quick glance and smile with her mother. Whatever Hiccup was doing, it was fascinating to watch. He had the fourteen year olds undivided attention.

"Yeah! So, if someone wanted to test a new wheelchair, like mine, they would have crippled people use it, right?" Luke gushed excitedly. Hiccup's smile grew to a level that Astrid had never seen.

"I can see where the genes for sharpness went in your family. Astrid certainly didn't get them." Hiccup snickered, and Luke roared with laughter.

"Hey!" Astrid barked in protest, although she knew it was harmless ribbing. Her and her mother shared in Luke's loud laughter, and even Hiccup's normal grin was accented by a chuckle. When their laughter had died down, Hiccup did something strange.

"Astrid, Ingrid, if you would slide your chairs over and sit beside Luke." He beckoned with his hands, and Astrid and her mother wordlessly slid their chairs around. Suddenly, their dining room table looked like one of Hiccup's conference rooms. When they were there, Hiccup put a folded pamphlet of sorts on the table, his hand resting on top of it.

"Luke, you are exactly right when you say that to test a wheelchair, they would have a disabled individual use it. The same could be said for testing a prosthetic."

* * *

 **No long AN here! Hope you liked it! Chapter 14 in less than 10 hours!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Enjoy!**

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He flicked the pamphlet gently across the table, and it came to rest in front of two sets of wide eyes, and a third set of tear filled eyes. Ingrid was trying her best to hold back her tears, but it was a losing battle.

On the front of the pamphlet was a picture of a foot. A normal foot. Except the shin was flapped open, like a hatch, and there was machinery beneath. Robotics. "It's called the Achilles V. It's a brand new robotic prosthetic that I have developed. Just this last week, it passed laboratory testing, and now I need to do field testing."

Astrid could already see how this was working. "Hiccup…we…I can't afford this…" She almost whispered. Hiccup smiled warmly at her, lifting his glass to his lips and taking a drink of the wine.

"See, it's the strangest thing…I cannot charge you for an experimental product. As the tester, Luke would be taking on considerable risk by using this. The sizing and fitting, as well as the use of the prosthetic, would be free." Ingrid broke down now, her sobs echoing into the room as she put her head onto Luke's shoulder. The boy himself looked like he had been struck by lightning.

"What's the catch?" Astrid asked, looking between Hiccup and the pamphlet, eyes narrowed and chest hollow. The CEO leaned back in his seat, his face taking on an oddly sure look.

"No catch. I need someone to test my new foot prosthesis. Luke just happens to be missing a foot. Quite a fortuitous coincidence, isn't it?" He smiled coolly, while his eyes had a bright, knowing tint. It made Astrid believe entirely that this was absolutely no coincidence at all. He planned this all out. He did this specifically. She wanted to know why.

"Mom, can you and Luke go to the living room? I need to talk to Hiccup in private." She suggested, and both of them went away, taking the pamphlet with them. Astrid was glad that she wasn't questioned about it. It would make this harder seeing as she didn't exactly know what she was going to question him about.

"Spill!" She snapped. "Why are you doing this?" There was no way that this was just some random act of kindness, and it wasn't. This wasn't random at all. If anything she knew about Hiccup was true, which in all actuality wasn't much, then he didn't just pull things out of his ass and do them. He didn't just happen to want to donate a super expensive robotic prosthetic because it crossed his fancy. He planned this out.

"Can I not do something nice for your brother?" He didn't even look angry that she was accusing him of doing…something! Shit, she didn't even know what she was mad about!

"This isn't doing something nice! You planned this out!" She hissed, and still he remained calm, sipping some of the sparkling grape wine that he had apparently developed a taste for.

"Of course I planned it out, Astrid. I _built_ your brother an extremely high tech foot. _Myself_. With my bare hands." For some reason that she couldn't explain, his calm answers to her questions only made her more furious. It was like he knew that she was going to be like this and had prepared the _perfect_ answers for her.

" _What for_?" She growled.

"The billion dollars I'm going to earn selling it. After your brother tests it for me."

"Bullshit. We both know you don't care about money. Why."

"So he can walk again." Hiccup's lazy smile didn't go anywhere. Astrid took a deep breath, a sudden realization hitting her. Could…could that be what is going on? He had been more than generous with her, and this was just way over the top. He knew that she was in a hard spot for money, or rather, when he hired her she was. He had to know that her medical bills still weren't taken care of. Even with the huge income he was paying her, repayment was still slow. All of this…and she was considered hot by most of the men she had the displeasure of letting her know.

"Are you…are you doing this so I'll sleep with you?" She whispered the question, looking down at her lap, almost scared of the answer. If it was the case…she would do it, but only for Luke. She would do it, but it would be terrible. She didn't want to be the whore that used her body to get the things that she needed or wanted. When she heard nothing, she glanced up, expecting to see that knowing smile and amused eyes.

She found those exact same eyes sitting on his face, with a giant smirk. "Don't be ridiculous, Astrid. If I had wanted that, you would be living in a mansion with fifteen cars just like that one out there." In a small way, the way that he so easily dismissed that very real fear felt like it should make her even more furious. There wasn't even a heartbeat between her question and his answer. Not even contemplation. No second thoughts, nothing. It was a natural response.

"Like I said. This is experimental tech. I won't lie to you; I chose Luke specifically to test out this foot."

"Why did you pick him? When?"

Hiccup leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and twisting his hands together. "The day you told me that he was having issues at school. A teenage boy should never have to go through ridicule like that, on top of the trauma of losing a limb. I already knew your backstory, and how hard you worked as a family to get through the tough times. He, as well as you and your mother by extension, deserve this. If you need a better reason, hang on…"

For a few moments, Hiccup was leaned over in his chair, his head almost underneath the table. Astrid scrunched her eyes, wondering just what the hell he was doing. Finally, his head emerged, and then he did something she couldn't believe. He put his foot, shoe, sock and all, on the table in front of her. "That," He said, pointing to the _foot_ that was on her dining room table. "Is the Achilles IV, which is the foot I use. See, Luke lost his right foot, while I lost my left. I guess you could say I'm a kindred spirit when it comes to the loss of limbs. As are a few people at DragonTech."

Astrid narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Hiccup took his foot back and put it back on his leg. "You know that glove that Gobber always wears? That's a robotic hand. He also lost a foot. Fishlegs lost both his hands in a boating accident when he was younger, so both his hands are robotic. Do you see now why we specialize in robotics like this? We use our own products, Astrid."

Astrid wanted to break down into tears at his words. She wanted to spill and have everything out on the table of how she felt. How could she ever repay him for doing this for them? His charity was literally endless. By all accounts, her association with him was an accident, and everything following it only a result of his generosity. Despite his assurances, how far would that same generosity go, and what was he expecting in return for it? Surely nobody could ever be this kind and demand nothing as recompense.

She rose to her feet and walked around the table, deciding to do this before she lost her nerve. She pulled his chair out and pulled him to his feet before wrapping her arms around his midsection and burying her face into his chest. He had long taken off his jacket, leaving him in the silk orange button up, and she knew that there would be a damp stain on it from the tears pushing from her eyes.

He didn't say anything, but his arms wrapped around her shoulders, enveloping her in a warm cocoon. She sobbed quietly into him, appreciating that he didn't make things any stranger than she already had. A few months ago, she would never have imagined that she was standing in her dining room, hugging the CEO of a major international company who had just offered to give her brother a prosthetic for free. Among all the other things he had done for her, this was roaring straight to the top of the list.

She pulled away, still sniffling, but glad that she had gotten her chance to cry. It was happy crying, but she had needed to let the emotion out. As expected, there was a wet stain on the shirt, but to his credit, Hiccup didn't look at all irked by it. She ran her arm across her nose, wiping away a few tears that had gotten down that far. A wet smile crossed her face, and she did something without thinking about it.

She punched him on the arm. He cocked a questioning eyebrow at her and she shrugged.

"That was for making me cry." She rose to her toes, leaning up and placing a light kiss to his cheek, her blush flaring up her neck to her cheeks. She heard the distinct sound of hitched breath as the kiss lingered on his skin. She finally pulled away, looking up at him shyly.

"That was for…everything else…" She mumbled. Hiccup stared down at her for a far too long second before turning away. She felt her stomach drop at this unspoken rejection of her actions, and she was rooted to the spot as he stepped around her.

"Luke! I promised you a ride in the Spyder! Let's go!" He called into the house. In a matter of seconds, her brother rolled to the door and outside, not even waiting for Hiccup. Astrid stood stock still, wondering just what would happen as a result of her advance on him. She turned to face the door, expecting to find him gone, but he stood there, looking at her.

He flashed between her and the door, indecision firing across his features. Finally, he pressed his fingers to his lips and kissed them before gently running them down her cheek. Although his smile touched the corners of his mouth, it grew no further. Then his hand was gone, and so was he, out the door and to Luke who was waiting by the car. Astrid watched them go with apprehension.

What had she done? How could she have done that? Yeah, the crying into his chest had been one thing, and that wasn't too ludicrous, but…then kiss? On his cheek? That was completely out of line, especially considering that she had just asked him if he was doing all this so she would sleep with him. After expressing such clear suspicions to him, how could she go and do that?

It was like she was asking for that to be the situation. She definitely wasn't, but she knew how easy it was to get men confused. How easily the succumbed to one temptation or another, based on their feelings. Was it really unfair of her to take that step, and show an obvious interest in him, after having just basically claimed that he was trying to coerce her? Maybe it wasn't so obvious a conclusion, but she could see it like that.

There was no cause that she had ever given him for such generosity. It wasn't like she was a family friend, or even a distant relative. He had no obligations to help her, yet he had. He'd given her a job, sent her back to school. He was paying for that school, and the simple sky high income she was getting right off the bat was more than enough to live her entire life on. She knew that he had the money to do things like that, and a _whole_ lot more, but why was he choosing to bless her with that ability?

If she was being entirely honest with herself, she had seen him in a different light, ever since the day with his burn. Ever since the day that she stood in front of him and didn't cower away from his lofty status, forcing him to come to terms with himself. She had seen him not as a CEO that day. Not as the billionaire emperor of a robotics empire. She started seeing him as Hiccup that day. As a man.

And that was when she started noticing things about him. Remembering things in a different way. His wry, warm smile that he often wore. The way his eyes twinkled when his mind was buzzing with ideas. Ruffnut spoke often of how he gets like a little kid in a candy store when he grabs onto something new. Just tonight, she saw a whole world of difference. His stories, his mannerisms, even the way he talks is different than at work.

He didn't look like her boss's boss anymore. He didn't act like the CEO. He acted like a guy. A normal guy, like the guys who she had worked with at the restaurant, or the ones that she had gone to school with before her father and Luke's accident. A guy who was doing his best to make a happy living in this crazy world they lived in. She put a palm to her cheek, where his fingers had been a moment ago.

"Let it never be said that a Hofferson doesn't take risks." Astrid spun around to look at her mother's softly smiling face. As the connotation of the words came to her, she blushed a deep crimson, and her mom let out a light chuckle.

"Astrid, Astrid, Astrid…what have you gotten yourself into, my daughter?" She clucked, coming to throw an arm around Astrid's shoulder. The girl shrugged nervously.

"Would it be…I don't know, unreasonable to say that I don't know?" She wondered, staring at the closed door and the man that had walked out of it. She knew what she had done, and she also knew that Hiccup had, in some form or fashion, reciprocated her feelings.

Her mother pulled Astrid through to the living room, sitting her down on the couch. On the small coffee table in front of them was the pamphlet. It was open, and filled with a lot of explanations and information about the Achilles V. Ingrid sat down next to her and took up the card, closing it and staring at the front.

"All I can ask, Astrid…" She handed the pamphlet over. "Is that you make sure you know what you are doing."

Astrid stared down at the pamphlet before her eyes flicked back to her mothers. "What do you mean?"

Her mother waved her hand around. "Look at us, dear. For the first time since we lost your father, we can say that we are comfortable. The bills are paid. The fridge is full. Our clothes aren't torn or fraying. You're going back to school, and now…" She took the pamphlet back. "Luke will be walking again. All of this is the work, and if I may be so bold, the personal touch of that man who just took your brother for a ride in a car that may be more expensive than our house."

Astrid took her words silently, considering all the things that Hiccup had done for their family. Could he have done all of that just to get to her? Her mother took her silence as permission to continue her talk. "Just be sure that it is him you want, dear, and not his money-"

"Mom!" Astrid retorted in horror, slightly annoyed that her mother would think such a thing about her own daughter.

"Let me finish," Ingrid said sternly, and Astrid deflated. "I was also going to say that make sure you are what he wants, and not some… _toy_." As much as Astrid wanted to be angry with her mom for suggesting that Hiccup might be like that, she couldn't do it. The truth of that matter was that she _didn't_ know if he was like that or not.

She had heard many times that big businessmen were bastards who always got what they wanted, even if that thing would hurt people. As far as she had seen, Hiccup wasn't like that, but how much did she actually know about him? Other than Toothless the mutt and the fact that he might like Asian food as much as she did, she really didn't have much to go on.

Well, he built machines, and he had more money than he knew what to do with. She had that on her side, she guessed. His personality though…it was a mystery to her. Would he really try to _buy_ her? Buy her body for him to play with when he was bored? Could he be doing all this to make her feel like she owed him? She did owe him…but would he think that she would automatically be his play thing for that debt?

It's not like he was a collection agency. She doubted that he would ever send her a bill for the things he's done for her. What if she refused him? Would he fire her? Literally, everything would fall apart again if he did. Was that his end game? To make her dependent on him? If she was, then it wouldn't matter what she wanted, he would win.

In a way, with the faith that had been shown in Hiccup by other employees, as well as Ruffnut herself, Astrid was sure that Hiccup wasn't the type of man to do that, but…she didn't know. Her experiences with him, one on one, were so few that she had no real gauge for his moral compass. At first, she had judged him entirely based on his actions with her specifically, but...her mother had sort of put paid to those. They could all be part of a game he's playing to get Astrid into bed.

So those couldn't be considered, and now that she thought about it hard, she hadn't heard about the things he'd done for any of her other coworkers. She was friends with several, but hardly to the level of revealing what he had done for each of them. She wondered if she was uniquely the focus of his generosity, or if she was just one of a statistic. In the deepest, selfish reaches of her mind, she hoped she was one of a kind.

She hoped that she was one of a kind, and she hoped that she was one of a kind in his eyes as well.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon came quicker than she thought it would, and she was walking alongside Luke and her mother into the building. They used the handicapped door that she had only just noticed alongside the other spinning doors. It was a set of double doors that opened widely, giving Luke plenty of room to wheel inside to the cool, marble lobby.

As soon as they broke the threshold, an excited call came from the desk. "The Hoffersons!" Valka cheered, rounding her desk and coming to embrace Astrid. The surprised blonde quickly and weakly complied, for she wasn't ready for the sudden hug.

"Hi, Valka!" She had made sure that both her mom and Luke knew exactly who was who, by use of the split names, so they wouldn't be confused. "Um, Valka, this is my mom, Ingrid and my little brother Luke."

The secretary gave her a wide grin before turning to her mother, throwing a hug on her as well. Astrid smirked as her mother looked morbidly surprised for a minute before relaxing. "It is so nice to meet you, Mrs. Hofferson!" Valka exclaimed.

"The pleasure is mine." Ingrid said politely. Valka gave her the same wide grin before turning to the third member of the family.

"And you must be the famous Luke Hofferson. I'm so happy you accepted the offer. I'm so excited!" She didn't hug him, which he actually looked just fine with. Being a bit shy, Luke only smiled and offered a tiny wave. Valka cooed like a love bird.

"Oh, he's so cute!" She almost squealed. Astrid shared a helpless look with her mother, shrugging her shoulders. She had never seen Valka this…eccentric. They followed the woman back to her desk.

"Um, why are you so excited, Valka? You're usually pretty…even." Astrid said carefully. She wasn't worried about offending the secretary, because she was the nicest person ever, but she didn't exactly know how to word her question.

"The whole company is excited, Astrid," Valka said as she dug through her drawers. "Luke is about to become a celebrity within DragonTech. Testers always are."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because, Hiccup selects testers personally. Normal companies send out information, and people submit profiles for consideration. Not at DragonTech. Hiccup picks people for a whole list of reasons that only he knows, and always in person. Alright, this is all set. Let's go!" She marched from behind her desk to the elevators. The Hofferson family followed closely behind.

"So…how does this…work, I guess…" Luke asked hesitantly.

"Simple. Astrid, you gave Hiccup his shoe size, correct?" Astrid nodded. She had thought it strange that he would want that, but she gave it to him anyway. "Well, he can explain the specifics, but the way it works is this: we're headed up to the penthouse right now to see Hiccup and the lawyers, an-"

"Excuse me?" Ingrid interjected. "Lawyers? Why lawyers?"

Valka didn't seem to mind the interrupted and continued he explanation as the doors to the lift opened. "When he had his accident, you applied for him to get a prosthetic, correct?" They all nodded together. "His name is still in the medical databases for being a prosthetic applicant. If he suddenly began wearing one, then they might think he got it bootlegged or stolen. Hiccup and the lawyers have doctors up there as well, with the paperwork. DragonTech will be acquiring his medical files as part of the tester job."

"Um…is that legal?" Ingrid posed, and Astrid watched with just a little bit of amazement as Valka pressed the forbidden top button in the elevator. Valka gave them a cheeky grin.

"That's why the lawyers are here." Astrid felt a nudge on her arm, and she looked down to see Luke with a worried look on his face.

"I…I don't like lawyers…" He whispered. In the confines of the elevator, his whisper echoed, and Valka heard it. She turned to him, a comforting smile on her face.

"No worries, Luke. They're just there to sign papers and make sure it's all done legally." She reassured him. When his face didn't lift any, Valka smiled again. "Don't worry, really. The lawyers are here, but Hiccup is the man in charge. He won't let a thing happen that he doesn't want to happen." The lift continued for several moments in silence until Luke spoke again.

"Is…is there a chance that I w-won't be eligible to test the foot?" He stammered, and Astrid reached down to grab his hand. Valka looked penchant for a moment, tapping her foot in thought. Then she shook her head.

"No, there shouldn't be any reason for that. I'm sure you'll be fine." Before Luke could ask any more questions, the doors opened. At the end of a long, single hallway was a set of double doors. They were glass, but an opaque glass. Past them, she could see another hallway, painted white with paintings and sculptures around it.

The foursome walked through the doors and into the penthouse. The paintings and sculptures were magical, all of them representations of dragons and Vikings. At the end of that hallway, a room opened up, and Astrid noted the very modern looking furniture. All black leather, as with everything else in the building.

In this living room was Hiccup, standing with a glass of something in his hand. He was dressed in another one of his casually expensive suits, this time with a red shirt, probably also silk, beneath a charcoal grey jacket. Ruffnut was there, as well as Tuffnut, and so was Fishlegs, the three of them sitting on the three person couch. In another corner stood three men, all dressed in suit and tie. Two black suitcases sat next to the couch, and Astrid guessed that those were the lawyers.

Sitting on a second couch were two men who she recognized as doctors from Charlotte Medical. One of them was the man who she knew very well. He was the one who handled Luke's amputation, as well as being the one who they had met with to get him fitted for a prosthetic the first time round. She didn't know who the second one was.

"There's the man of the hour!" Hiccup exclaimed as they walked in. Astrid smiled warmly at him as he rounded the room towards them. He met her eyes and winked, giving her a quick smile. He came up and shook hands with Luke, hugged her mom and hugged Astrid. She was fine with it, but she felt the quickest, barest of brushes of his lips across her temple as he pulled away.

She was glad that she couldn't be sure if that's what it was, because if she knew it, she would have blushed crimson immediately. Thankfully, Hiccup didn't linger. "Alright, let's get this business out of the way so we can get to the good stuff!"

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! Reviews and critical reception always welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome to chapter 15! This chapter is going to irk a few of you. Just a warning.**

 **Thank you for all your reviews, favorites and follows!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **AN: Read carefully, because some time passes in this chapter by the end.**

* * *

"So, as most of us know, we're here today to discuss the testing arrangements for Luke Hofferson." Hiccup announced, standing in the middle of the living room, the other DragonTech heads standing behind him. Astrid, her mother and Luke sat on the couch in the middle. On the couch to their left was the lawyer team, and to their right were the doctors from Charlotte Medical.

"As per the norm, I personally chose Luke to test the new Achilles V robotic prosthetic. I uh…believe you can all see _why_ …" He smirked at Luke, and to Astrid's happy surprise, he laughed along with others around the room. Hiccup shared the laugh quickly before resuming his talk. "All jokes aside, Luke and his family have elected to accept my offer for him to test the Achilles. Now, the only thing I believe we have to account for is the transfer of medical files. Tulio?"

When the name came out, one of the lawyers stood up, holding a file. "Yes. To this point, all legal process has been observed. The only thing needed to be done is for these forms to be signed by both Luke and Ingrid Hofferson, as well as Dr. Sidebottom." Astrid had to resist a laugh as she saw Ruffnut's lips purse in an obvious attempt to contain her own laughter.

The lawyer, Tulio, as was the only name Astrid had for him, handed her mother the form in question, along with a pen. Ingrid quickly read through it and smiled, signing her name in neat script. She took a moment to explain something to Luke, and then he signed it as well. They handed the form back to the lawyer.

"Perfect. Now, you understand that this document is legally binding, and all terms, requirements and conditions must be followed to the letter?" He posed with a cocked eyebrow. Ingrid nodded, and so did Luke.

The lawyer nodded once more for good measure before walking over and handing the document to Dr. Sidebottom. Just thinking about his name made Astrid want to burst into laughter. The last time that she had met with him specifically, she couldn't take any pleasure from it. Her reason for being there in the first place didn't allow her to. But this time…this time was different.

The two doctors read through the form, and then did something unexpected. They placed it on the table, without signing it, and leaned back. "We have only one issue with this agreement." They said carefully, looking at the lawyer.

Astrid felt Luke's hand grab onto hers and squeeze. She returned the gesture, unsure what was happening now. Valka had sounded so sure before about this. "What might that be?" Tulio, the lawyer asked evenly.

Dr. Sidebottom took out a file from his briefcase, holding it out. "This agreement calls for complete transfer of patient files and responsibility from Charlotte Medical to DragonTech Robotics. However, there is the issue of the outstanding bill." The lawyer, Tulio, took it from him, glancing into it. "Charlotte Medical will not be sending patient files anywhere until Ms. Hoffersons balance with the hospital is nil."

Astrid felt tears begin to burn at the corners of her eyes. Luke's grip on her hand was so hard now that it almost hurt. How could they do this? They're demanding that the bill be zero before Luke was even allowed to test this leg? She was speechless, and she didn't know what to do, but…she was saved.

"Gentlemen, if you will excuse me. Astrid, could you come with me please?" He strode from the room, grabbing the file at the same time and Astrid shared a quick look of uncertainty with her mother and Luke before following him. They went through a sprawling kitchen and into a large dining room. Hiccup sat at one of the seats, the file in front of him, unopened.

He saw her come in and pulled a chair out. She took the hint and sank down into it, feeling dejected and upset. He turned to face her, leaning back in his seat. "What do you want to do?"

She shrugged. "What do you mean? What can I do? I'm still deep in debt, even with this great job and all…" She murmured in defeat. Hiccup shook his head and tapped the file, still looking over at her.

"Can I open this?" He asked. She nodded numbly, figuring that it wouldn't help to be all secretive now. With everything he had already done for her, it made no sense to keep things from him. The file flipped open, and Hiccup hummed to himself as he read it. She knew what that file contained, and she watched forlornly for his reaction to it.

When it didn't come, and he instead closed the file while leaning his elbows on the table, she grew concerned. He looked pensive and thoughtful, his lips pressed to his steepled hands, but she didn't know what about. She hesitantly leaned forward, trying to break into his vision. "Hiccup?"

"Astrid…tell me something…and I want you to be honest with me…" His hands fell to the file again, his index finger tapping on the edge of the manilla sheet as his head angled to look at her. She nodded silently, hoping that the move reassured him in any way. "You said something back at your house on Thanksgiving. It was a question, right after I had told you about the prosthetic. Your mom and Luke were in the living room."

She thought back, and only one question stuck out in her mind. "W-when I asked you if you're doing all this so I'll sleep with you?" He nodded. "Er…what about it?"

"You don't truly believe that, do you?" She looked away from him, shame burning onto her face. After long hours spent thinking, she _had_ come to the decision that she believed his goal was to get her into bed. He had been so flippant when she asked about it, so carelessly dismissive of the concern that it had to be a show. How could he have so easily dismissed her concerns if he really wasn't concerned with her feelings at all?

A warm finger came to her chin, pulling her face back around. He had moved closer, his eyes wide and gentle. Her eyes were full and watery, and she just knew that she had a clear as day look of guilt on her face. That guilt only grew when she saw the genuine look of horror and pain that grew on his face.

"You…you do believe that…" She tore her chin from him, looking away, too guilty and upset to even think about looking him in the eye. He had done so much for her, and the two of them had ever come to some strange affection for each other. It wasn't much, but the kiss she put on him, then the kiss he put on her, it meant _something_. It was more than she gave other men she worked with, and their touches were short and gentle, like a couple.

But, was that really his goal? Being a happy couple? He was a CEO; wearing a mask and playing nice was probably something he was extremely good at. Having her as his plaything would be very convenient for him, and look at that, he had given her so much that she shouldn't have any issue with coming and being a decoration for his bed. That's what he wanted…right?

There was a deep sigh before the chair next to her scooted back. Hiccup got up and walked back towards the living room. Once he had gotten ahead enough, she rose and followed him, not wanting to meet his eyes at all. Even though she just knew that this was going to go sour now that she had shot down his plans of using her, she could hold herself with some self-respect. She sat down next to her mother and Luke, a sad look on her face.

"DragonTech will pay the balance, Dr. Sidebottom. Send the bill to my secretary downstairs, and she will handle payment." Astrid tore from her intense inspection of the floor to stare up at Hiccup. He was staring back at her, his eyes full of pain and his stance rigid. After a moment, he swallowed and looked away from her.

What had happened here? She…she had said no to him! She had said that she wouldn't be his toy, so why was he still doing things for her? The questions burned at the back of her mind, and she wanted to badly to blurt them out. Her frenzied eyes searched the floor and the table for answers, but she could come up with none before she heard speaking again.

"That would be agreeable, Mr. Haddock," The doctor said. He leaned forward and put his messy signature on the paper and handed it back to the lawyer, who was still hovering nearby. "I will see that the files, as well as the rights to Luke Hofferson as a patient, are faxed to you, and the bill will be forwarded to your building."

"With that, I do believe everything is in order. Gentlemen and ladies, thank you for coming today. Luke, if you will accompany me, we'll get and start getting you ready for your foot." Hiccup walked over to the couch, giving Ingrid a smile, Luke a handshake…and ignoring Astrid's existence completely.

"Ingrid, while you wait for this to finish, Rachel has taken the liberty of offering to take you and your daughter to lunch." Astrid fought the urge to scream. _Your daughter_. He didn't even say her name, and it stung. A lot. Before, even since the day she had gotten hired, he had never referred to her as anything other than Astrid. Now…now she was just her mother's daughter.

She watched Luke roll away with Hiccup in tow, the two of the laughing about something. She knew she had done the right thing in telling him that she wouldn't be his toy. A big shot CEO would never want anything to do with her other than that anyway.

* * *

"Why do I have to do this again?" Luke whined, sitting in his chair and lifting the small weights with his legs. "Can't I just start walking?"

Astrid shook her head at him from her seat. "You haven't walked for two years, buddy. I know you've messed around, hopping on just your one foot, but that other leg is still weak. We need to build some muscle before you can start walking." She explained to him, smiling through it all. Hiccup was still stuck in her mind, and what had happened between them three days back ate at her, but that was easily overridden by the sheer happiness that was seeing two feet on Luke again.

Yeah, maybe one of them was actually an incredibly complex, high tech prosthetic, but it was the principle of it all. Luke _looked_ whole once again, and it was an incredible feeling. Their mother sat nearby, watching her son quietly and with constantly glistening eyes. Astrid knew that her mother wanted to speak, wanted to tell Luke how happy she was, but Astrid also knew that if she did, she would break down.

"So sis, what do you do in here all day?" Luke asked, apparently bored with his exercises. Astrid gestured to her computer and to the filing cabinets.

"Mostly, I schedule and perform appointments, do paperwork and file information away."

"No idea how you find time to do all that with all the kitten pictures I catch you staring at," Astrid's face went red when she heard Ruffnut's voice, and she turned a sheepish look on her mother. Ingrid was staring at her with an obviously amused eyebrow cocked. "How's the leg work going, Luke?" She ignored Astrid and focused on her brother.

He waved at her. "Good I guess, but seriously? Three weeks of _this_?"

She came over and hoisted herself onto Astrid's desk. "Want to walk, don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you need to get strong again. No slacking." Luke groaned and continued with his work while Astrid and her mother laughed at his mock misfortune. Ruffnut wasn't done though.

"Listen up little bro. I hear the other kids are sort of dicky to you at school." Luke's smile fell away instantly as he thought about the kids at school. The ones who tortured him every day due to his impediment. The ones who thought that his being unable to go to a dance meant something on the social playground. Ingrid looked over at Astrid, and she couldn't meet her mother's eyes.

It wasn't shame, but more a sense of being caught out asking for help with something that was a sort of private matter. Her mom would get over being slightly irritated with Astrid later, but for now she could deal with it. Astrid had gone and asked Ruffnut to speak to Luke about dealing with those idiots at school, mainly because of two reasons. Ruffnut had the sort of raw attitude that she'd have a good answer for him, and also because she couldn't even stomach the idea of speaking to Hiccup right now.

Being someone who had lost a limb, just like Luke, she'd wanted Hiccup to be the one talking to him, but…they weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment.

To his credit, Luke put on a brave face. "They do, but they just don't get it. I don't care what they think, because they've never lost a foot." Astrid smiled proudly at him for his thick skin, and even though she had an idea that he played it out better than it was, she still liked how brave he was.

"Sweet outlook, but be careful with it."

Luke furrowed his brow curiously. "Careful? What do you mean?"

"I admit I am also wondering," Ingrid supplied, and Astrid decided to remain silent and just listen.

Ruffnut cracked her neck loudly. "Listen, whatever I am about to say, it isn't meant to be critical or anything, so take no offense, yeah?" Luke nodded silently, enraptured by her words. Ruff pointed down at his feet. "You're slacking. Keep lifting."

He did so, and she nodded in approval. "See, it's good that you can detach yourself from caring about the stupid things the others say, but at the same time it's a bit bad. This is where the sort of offensive stuff comes in. You have to come to terms with the idea that even though those kids are ass hats and all that, some of what they are saying is true. Accepting what happened to you is a two sided job: you yourself have to accept, and then you have to accept that you are different than everyone else. Those kids told you that you can't dance like them? They're right. You can't. And you need to accept that. They'll tell you that you can't possibly play sports, like football. They're right. You can't. And you need to accept it as fact. Now, once you've done that, then it will be time for other people to accept who you are. They will have to accept that you are a different person than they are. It won't be an acceptance you see or hear; it'll be one you have to know is there. You are different from them. That is a fact, and you must be prepared to be your own person, not work hard to be just like them. Being different means being better."

Luke had gone quiet, and he wasn't the only one. Astrid and her mother were both quiet as well as Ruff's words ran through their minds. Astrid had always believed that she and her mom did their very best to help Luke deal with his detractors, with the kids who belittled him for his missing leg. However, they had always told him how he was just like them. How if he tried hard enough, he could easily be just the same as them. Have the same experiences, the same social status, the same grades, everything.

They had never once told Luke to embrace his injury. To put faith in how he was different from people, rather than put faith in the chance that he could be just like them. They'd always tried to make sure that he knew that his injury didn't make him different from other kids. Ruffnut was suggesting that he should emphasize that. It was a thought that had never truly occurred to Astrid as being an option for him, because she thought that making him feel different would only do him worse.

Ruffnut allowed them to think about her words for several minutes before elaborating. "It's easy to be just another student walking around the halls, but how easy is it to be the one in a wheelchair? It's easy to be just another student walking around the halls, but how easy is it to be the one who taught himself to walk again after losing a foot? Being in the position you are gives you the unique chance to be _that_ guy. The guy everyone whispers about. The guy who is immune to social bullshit. The guy who everyone respects, no matter who they are or what they do. And you do that by caring, and not caring at the same time."

XXX

Hiccup stared out his window, glaring down at the freshly painted blue car that pulled out of his parking garage and on its way to Rock Hill. Astrid drove, her mother in the passenger seat and Luke sitting in the back, no wheel chair in sight. It had been five weeks since the day Luke got his foot, and five weeks since Hiccup was broken by a single employee.

When he snuck off that day, he had been doing his best to avoid the stress of his project. The Achilles V was deep in work back then, but he had been finding serious issues with motivation to actually spend dedicated time on it. He loved Asian food, but he wanted to get out of Charlotte and stay out. So, he went to Rock Hill. The mall there was small and out of the way, at least where he was concerned. So he went. Dressed casually. Driving something that was…normalish? Really, he just stole Gobber's car because the old grump still drove a Ford Explorer. Unfortunately, he didn't own anything less fancy than a Mercedes convertible.

Regardless, he tried to be as normal as he could be. At DragonTech, everyone treated him like an expensive glass vase; tenderly, always careful no matter what the situation. When he tried to be normal, people treated him as they would each other. When he was Hiccup, Owner and CEO, the respect he got was fake from nearly everyone. As Harry, he was treated and respected just like any other guy walking around in the mall. All he wanted was to be treated normally. Just like everyone else.

He had no idea that he would bump into a girl at the food court that day. Had no idea that the story he heard from a little kid in a wheelchair would spur him into the strongest inspirational work drive he'd had in years. It was easy to imply the truth of their situation from the broken pieces of information he got from both Luke and Astrid. She dropped out of college after he had an accident that left him in a wheelchair.

He saw a chance. A chance that he'd seen with Trevor and Rachel. A chance to pull someone out of a truly terrible situation that they really had no way out of. Luckily, Astrid told him about having a resume out online. The hunt for that took hardly any time at all, but it was the mailing of the letter that took time. He signed it personally with her name, and lo and behold, she called and confirmed her interview.

At first, he had zero intentions leaning towards the romantic. Truth be told, romance or lust was the last thing on his mind. Since reforming himself, women were never something that meant good times. Most often, they were just greedy and hungry to use him for his money. When he brought Astrid on, in truth, it was all to get to Luke. To get him on his feet again. It was always his goal to erase their debt, and to make sure that Luke Hofferson got a prosthetic: cost free to his family. Obviously, he had to play things correctly to avoid any potential issues regarding legal dispensing of high tech products, but he never guessed that in doing so, he would become entangled in… _this_.

He hurt so very bad from Astrid's words. Her assumptions. They burned him worse than any flash burn he'd ever received. He'd told himself several times that he wasn't in this for Astrid's love. That he wasn't in this for his own selfish desire. He wasn't. That was never his goal. It had, somehow, become the back edge of the sword of generosity. A weakness that his father, and grandfather, had warned him about. Being generous was always a great thing; a single edged blade, carving through darkness. It left a wonderful feeling in a man's chest. It made him smile at things he never smiled at. It made him believe that any single person could slice through the darkness of greed and bestow gifts upon others with no desire for recompense.

Then, there was the back edge. The darker side of generosity that only reared its ugly head if you allowed it to. The curse of giving with no reciprocation. In his heart, he'd begun to yearn for something in return. It wasn't as great a beast as Astrid thought; he wasn't demanding her body in exchange for his money, no. At some point along the way, a small flame of affection had begun to burn for the blonde. A small flame that grew into something more. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, he could win Astrid's heart not with money, but with deeds. The path he took did not go through sunny valleys, however, instead rushing through haunting shadows.

He'd been wrong; he'd done wrong. All she saw was his money flying to her every need; shielding her from the harsh glare of reality. In the end, he'd realized that it was all he had to offer her. His money. He'd cleared her debt to Charlotte Medical. He'd given her the most overblown salary a person with her qualifications- which at the time were nil- could land. An investigation would have invalidated her employment in seconds. Clearly, according to Rachel and every patient Astrid had ever worked with, she was more than qualified _now_ , but before…no. He'd gone out of his way for people before, but never to the level as with Astrid.

He was furious. Not with her, as she most likely assumed from the fact that he'd not said a word to her in all these five weeks. With himself. He was furious that he allowed himself to fall prey to the dark void of wanting something in return. Astrid made him realize just how bad it had become when she refused to answer him when he asked if she truly believed that he would only do all this to win her body. He was ashamed of himself for wanting her. Ashamed of himself for not being more thoughtful with how he chose to help her. Ashamed that his first move whenever she needed something was to go to his bank account.

Deeds always meant more than money. Being a good person was always more valuable than money. He'd lost sight of it. He fell into the trap of wealth. For a while, he believed that his money would solve every problem she had, and that he had to do nothing else to win her. He was ashamed of himself for not being the person there for her to speak with. Not being the person who listened and offered genuine opinion. No…he'd been the one fighting her problems with a sword made of money and armor made from privilege.

He thought he could pave a golden brick walkway straight into his arms, and she would follow it. It sickened him to admit it to himself, but…he _had_ been trying to buy her with everything he had.

And she'd seen right through him.

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 **I hope you all enjoyed! I'll see you again next week!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you everyone for your kind reviews! I appreciate all the support!**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

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She entered the building with a sigh, walking steadily past Valka's desk, slightly sad that the joyful woman wasn't sitting there. She, no matter how shitty a day Astrid's had been having, always succeeded in making her smile in some way. Whether it was verbally abusing Ruffnut, or just offering stable conversation. With her current dilemma, she could have really used that sort of uplifting experience. Luke was progressing well, and she was overjoyed at seeing it, but her thoughts constantly went back to Hiccup.

She thought that she had been right when she decided that he was only being so good to her so she would sleep with him. He's a CEO for a huge, international company. He was a playboy. He could literally do whatever he wanted and not worry about the consequences. Why else would she be where she was? Why else would a girl who didn't even have a degree yet land a job as lucrative and fantastic as hers? Hiccup had paid off their debt and put a foot on Luke for _free_. Who would do something like that just…out of the kindness of their heart? In this day and age…nobody. In this day and age, every move had an ulterior motive.

The elevator stopped at floor 23 and she got off, saying hi and waving at some of her coworkers. Most had forgotten all about the Helga Sinclair episode, and many had come to really like and respect Astrid because, ultimately, her patients were supremely pleased with her work. Being floor lead didn't really hurt either. Her therapy room was thankfully empty, because she couldn't bear to deal with Ruffnut this morning. Her boss' usual eccentricity was fun on some days, but today…she just wasn't in the mood for it.

Slumping into her chair, she glanced up at the picture of her and Luke and their mother. They looked so happy, and she was delighted at how their lives have changed, but even looking at that came with a dark, overhead cloud of reality. Hiccup was responsible for all of it, and she couldn't really think about one positive aspect of their lives without having to also think about her boss. Or…her bosses boss, really.

She sighed and signed into her computer, the happily adorable kitten that stared back at her belied how gloomy her time here had been of late. No matter how much she tried to take the positive in each and every day, she just couldn't. She'd made the decision that he had been trying to use her...so why was she so…forlorn about _not_ having his attention? She was a toy in his eyes. A plaything that a billionaire like him could use and get rid of. Rich guys were assholes. They didn't care about women. He was no different. Why else would he pour so much time and money into her wellbeing?

Ruffnut had always said that if she needed something, then she should just ask. Could she ask about this? Ruffnut and Hiccup were close, that much was clear. How close, she couldn't really say, but she doubted that it went to the point of being romantic or anything like that, but it was at the level that she would most likely be angry about what Astrid had said to Hiccup. So where does she go? Who does she talk to about what she did? She had to do something to feel better, feel validated, or at least get over this weird funk she was in.

Her phone rang on her desk, the frantic vibrating startling her briefly before she breathed in relief and checked the ID.

"Fishlegs?" She wondered aloud. While she wasn't on the level of friendship she was with Ruffnut, or Hiccup actually, with the home technology head, they were familiar with each other. She clicked the green flashing button and put the phone to her ear.

"This is Astrid." She said in her formal answer. She found that customers often preferred her to greet them like that, and in a way she liked it because there was never a case of someone wondering who was on the other line.

"Hey Astrid, its Fishlegs. Do you have a patient now, or anytime soon?"

She shook her head reflexively, although there was no way that he could see it. "No. I'm free for the next few hours. Do you need something?"

"Can you come up to floor twenty nine, please? Lab 5."

"Of course. I'll be there in a moment." She got up and practically motored out of her room, excited to be doing something to keep her mind off Hiccup. She knew that Fishlegs often worked on some exciting things in his labs, almost all of his products being things to be used within the home. She had found out that Fishlegs had created and released a robot that was used in hotels to deliver room service and other such things. It was actually a really cool product, and she knew that it was considered one of the more basic things Fishlegs gets up to. Ruffnut spoke of the man with a twinkle in her eye that had Astrid grinning like a hyena. Which gets her yelled at, but it's Ruffnut so she doesn't care.

The lift opened on twenty nine and she quickly found Lab 5. Inside, Fishlegs, Tadashi and another man stood, the trio staring down at a small, flat device and a box that sat next to it. "Hey, you needed me?" She greeted curiously. Fishlegs gave her a smile when he looked up.

"Yes, we did! Can you come and take a look at this device for me please?"

As a natural cause of where she worked, and how inherently curious about new things as Astrid was, she had become far, far more tech savvy since she began working at DragonTech. Things that would have stumped her completely before were hardly difficult to use now. She wasn't at the level of Tuffnut, who could apparently wire a computer by touch alone, but she was a lot better than she used to be.

Fishlegs and his two techs stepped back from the table as she stepped up to it, eyes investigating the small black rectangle and the smaller box beside it. It was thicker than a phone, and about a foot long from end to end. The side facing up was all glass, but other than that there were no distinguishing features. Astrid did what she always did when she found technology she couldn't understand: she poked it.

In the center of the screen a light appeared, and letters ran across just below it. The letters read: _Please insert blueprints._ Astrid stared at the message with a cocked eyebrow before glancing slowly over at the box. She reached over and opened it, finding a small data card sitting on a bed of microfiber. She took it and looked on each side of the device, finding a small slot on the right side. Once the chip was inserted, the message disappeared and the light in the center widened.

The light expanded and Astrid found herself staring at a holographic projection of what looked like a house. In clear blue lines, every detail of the house was represented, even pictures on the walls. In one corner, a window was outlined in red, and again on the second floor in a bedroom. Astrid squinted as she tried to see every single little detail of the house, and was amazed to find that she could even identify flowers in vases, cups on the table and even toothbrushes in the bathroom by the sink.

Suddenly, the entire projection flashed red, and within it, Astrid saw the form of a man, outlined in blazing white, climbed in through the first floor window. She watched, enraptured as the small white man ran around, smashing a plant, digging through drawers and finally grabbed a television, going to the door with it. When he pulled it open, several blue figures entered, and then the entire hologram went blue.

"Is this a security system?" She asked, turning around to look at the techs and Fishlegs, all three of whom let out a long held breath.

"Geez, you are the seventh person we've had come look at this, and everyone else thinks it's a video game." Tadashi said with a relieved laugh.

"What tipped you off?" Fishlegs asked, coming to stand beside her.

Astrid pointed at the still blue, peaceful projection of the house. "The colors. Whose house is this?"

Fishlegs withdrew the SD card from the side of the device and held it up. "It isn't a real house. We generated a scenario based on traditional burglary characteristics." Astrid heard him while simultaneously pouting about the loss of the rather pretty projection. "With increasing social unrest, burglary rates are rising, and DragonTech was contracted by Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to create a security program that was high tech enough to stop burglaries in real time. For example, as soon as the robber came in through the window, the police were contacted."

Astrid awed at the small device, and about a thousand questions ran through her mind, but none of them seemed to make any sense to ask at this exact moment. Fishlegs had begun to speak to one of his techs about something, and she felt that maybe it would be out of place for her to interrupt him. Once they were done, Fishlegs made for the door to the lab. "Walk with me, Astrid." She silently followed him, casting one more amazed look at the small security device.

They rounded the halls and arrived at the elevators before Fishlegs finally said anything else. "How is Luke?" A while ago, she might have wondered how exactly he knew about Luke, but not anymore. The kid was practically a celebrity in this building. Everyone knew his name now.

"Good," She answered. "He's so eager to walk that he doesn't want to do the therapy."

The large man chuckled as the elevator doors opened. "I can see how he would be eager. It is easy for those who get prosthetics immediately, because their muscles haven't atrophied. Luke is in a harder spot, but he'll pull through."

Astrid's chest swelled at the praise for her younger brother, who'd faced so much hardship in his short life. Only fourteen years old and he'd already lost a parent and a limb, but just as the head had said. He would pull through. The doors opened on floor twenty three and Fishlegs beckoned her through. "If you need anything, let me know, alright?"

Astrid paused, his words running through her mind rapidly. They weren't _too_ close…but good enough…maybe she should talk to him about things. "Well…uh…in that case…can I talk to you about something?"

Without a moment's wait, he nodded and held the elevator. "Certainly. If you don't mind coming to my office." Astrid returned to the elevator, where she stood silently. Fishlegs appeared to understand that she had no desire to talk in this elevator, or in the halls while they walked to his office. Once there, though, she sat down across from him and sighed deeply.

"I'm having some…relationship issues, I think?"

FIshlegs cocked an amused eyebrow. "You think?" He posed with a small smile.

Astrid rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh, I don't know! It's so complicated and I don't know what to do!"

Fishlegs folded his hands on his belly. "Have you spoken to Ruffnut about this? You are her favorite."

Astrid shook her head firmly, giving Fishlegs a helpless look. "No…besides she isn't really my first pick when it comes to being…uh…"

"Discreet."

"Discreet! Yes, that is what I wanted to say," Astrid was so thankful that Fishlegs had all the words for her. "So anyway…I may have uh…said something to a guy that I'm not proud of, and he ended up taking it the wrong way, but I didn't really…discourage him from taking it that way, and now we're at this weird stalemate and I have no idea what to do and its making me miserable and…yeah…"

Fishlegs sat for a few moments, his hands templed in front of his face. The silence was near murderous for her as she wondered what the super practical man would think. Finally, he broke his silence, taking something from beneath his jacket. It was a ring on a chain. "Did you know that I am married, Astrid?"

She shook her head. "No…"

He nodded and stared at the ring with a smile. "Most people don't. Only the Board of Directors knows. Do you know why?"

Again, she shook her head. Fishlegs put the ring back beneath his jacket. "Something called nepotism. Do you know what that is?" Astrid shook again, starting to get annoyed with the way that the head was answering her. "Nepotism is when someone in power, say…Hiccup, plays favorites by giving people jobs based on friendship or being related. Basically, when business becomes mixed with concepts like _love_ …things can get a little weird."

In her mind, Astrid began to wonder if Fishlegs was aware that she was talking about Hiccup. Why else would he talk about that nepotism stuff? That didn't even remotely relate to what Astrid had asked him…

"Now, to answer your question. Don't tip toe. If there was a misunderstanding, nip it in the bud. Tell whomever it is what the problem was. Does that answer your question?"

It really didn't, because that was exactly what she _couldn't_ do. She didn't have the luxury of storming onto the 41st floor and banging on his door, demanding that he come talk to her. She couldn't throw her arms around his neck and kiss him until she felt better, because she was the one who'd made a wild assumption about him and his goals. What if she was wrong? What if he was just that great of a guy? What if she took the best thing to ever happen to her and shot it right in the heart because of some insecurity?

"Thanks, Fish…I'll keep that in mind." She said softly before getting up and dragging herself from his office, her mind a storm of indecision and guilt and anger and hope and despair.

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Astrid sat at her desk, staring glumly at her appointments for the day. This day was perilously bland of things to do, and to make matters worse, she was still bent out of shape about…fuck, about everything. What little relationship, whether that be friendly or something more, she'd had with Hiccup had evaporated. That day when Luke was fitted with the new prosthetic was nearly two months ago, and even though Hiccup was always present for when he was here for therapy, he had not said a single word to Astrid. At all. She couldn't even wish him a Merry Christmas because he actually left Charlotte for it.

Often enough, he shared quiet words with Ruffnut, and then there were times when all the heads, minus Valka, were in the room when Luke was working out. When he had expressed being nervous about it to Astrid, she had gone and mentioned it to Hiccup, but it hardly counted because he only grunted. While he said nothing to her, that day was the last time all the heads were present. Now, it was usually just Ruffnut, but he would come down occasionally to watch. Always with a stony face, and always silent.

A few times, he had stopped them to ask Luke about things that sounded mechanical. Last week, he had actually taken the foot and given it some tweaks before bringing it back. It was always done in silence, and even when she tried to catch him alone when he was coming or going, he brushed her off entirely. Up to this point, at the two week mark, she thought it had been just between them what had happened. However, it was also today that she found out that somebody else had become aware of it as Ruffnut stormed into her room and slammed the door.

"The fuck did you do to him!?" She snapped, glaring with her arms crossed over her chest. Astrid winced and sighed at her words, knowing immediately whom the other head was talking about. It had come time that Astrid realized something about her bosses: Rachel Thorston was definitely second in charge of this entire company. No other head, to her knowledge, spoke or knew as much about Hiccup as Ruff did.

"What do you want me to say?" She sighed.

"I want you to explain to me, exactly, what you have done!" Ruff yelled. "Took me two fucking weeks to finally crash his game and find out why he's been a zombie since giving Luke that foot. Normally he's like a kid on a permanent sugar high, but not this time, and I wanted to know why. I got to him today when I found him working and he nearly electrocuted himself!"

Astrid's eyes widened and she glanced up at Ruffnut worriedly, all sorts of horrible visions running through her mind. "Is he alright!?" She blurted out before thinking, and remembering, that she was the cause of this.

"The hell do you think, Astrid!? The owner and CEO of this company, a robotics _master_ , forgot to ground himself while working with thousands of volts of live electricity. Whatever it was you said to him, it messed him up pretty hard. So…what was it?" Ruffnut placed herself directly in front of Astrid, her tattooed arms crossed on her chest, her index finger of her right hand tapping impatiently on her left arm.

Astrid leaned back in her chair, rubbing her face with her hands. "When he came to our house for Thanksgiving and pitched the Achilles V to us, I asked him if he was doing it so I would sleep with him…" She noted the furious look that came over Ruffnut's face, her jaw clenching and her eyes twitching. Astrid looked away so she could finish talking with being too scared of what was about to happen.

"He convinced me that he wasn't. Then when we in his penthouse and he offered to clean my debt, he asked me again if I thought he was doing that. I…didn't say anything, hesitated…and he must have taken that as a yes…which isn't necessarily wrong…" She finished her explanation and chanced a look at her boss.

Ruffnut stood there fuming, her tapping now a drumming as emotions flashing between anger, fury, anger and more fury switched on her face. Without saying anything, she whipped out her phone and rattled off a text message before reached over and grabbing Astrid's arm. She pulled the younger therapist out of her seat and dragged her out of the office. People in the hallway began to murmur and whisper to each other about the scene, but nobody stopped it.

"What are you doing!?" Astrid cried, trying to free herself from her boss' grip. Ruffnut didn't answer her and yanked the blonde all the way to the elevator, jamming her finger on the lone button above all the others. When the doors opened on the hallway to the penthouse, Astrid noted that the doors were closed. She was going to ask about how they were going to get in, but as soon as they got there, Ruffnut stopped for a second.

" _Vær_ _sjenerøs_." She said cleanly, and Astrid jerked at the use of the foreign language. She was even more surprised as the doors clicked and swung open, granting them access to the top level home. Inside, by the living room, Hiccup stood with a scowl on his face. He wasn't dressed normally, with a blazer haphazardly thrown over a pair of jeans. It was literally the most casual she had seen him since that day at the mall.

"Rachel, what the hell is this? Since when did you know how to get in here?"

"Since always, jackass." The therapist snapped, pushing Astrid to stand next to Hiccup's taller frame. The two of them watched the Thorston curiously as she arranged them carefully, right next to each other. When they were standing so close that they're arms were touching, Ruffnut took a deep breathe.

They both fell to the floor, faces stinging from Rachel's lightning fast hits. She had punched Hiccup and slapped Astrid fast enough to have them both groaning at the same time. "What the fuck is wrong with both of you!?" She yelled at them, assuming her cross armed stance again and glaring down at them.

To Astrid's surprise, Hiccup didn't respond in any way to the words, simply holding his face in his hands, maybe too stunned that she actually hit him to do anything. Astrid, being the guilty one here, couldn't say anything. Or maybe she didn't have the guts to say anything, but whatever the case neither of them spoke.

Ruffnut threw her hands into the air, rubbing her face. She let out a sigh. "Odin." Next to her, Astrid heard Hiccup cough at the use of the name, and when she looked over, he was staring at Rachel, amazement in his eyes.

"You wouldn't." He gaped.

"Watch me," Rachel spat at him. "Odin!"

A voice came out of the silent apartment, reverberating around them. "Yes, Rachel?" It sounded electronic, automated. Like a soundboard the musicians used was speaking. Ruffnut kept her eyes boring into Hiccup's as she spoke.

"Seal Hiccup's doors please. Nobody leaves until I say. And order Chinese food. The regular." Staring over Ruffnut's shoulder, Astrid saw the doors close by themselves. Could it be true? That day when Heather was spewing about DragonTech, she said that she had read on a blog that the company has an AI that runs the building. She had never seen any evidence of something like that, and nobody had ever talked about it. If it were common knowledge, she would have heard by now.

"What is that?" She asked, barely higher than a whisper. For the first time since paying off her medical bills, Hiccup spoke to her.

"That…is Odin. An artificial intelligence that I started to create with my father before he died. He was only ten percent complete when dad had his stroke. I finished him exactly two years to the day of my father's death." He explained. Astrid didn't know what to say, or even what to do. So there _was_ an artificial intelligence that ran this building. How come she had never heard it before? Nobody talked about it.

"Before you ask, because I can see the question on your face," Rachel spoke up, cocking an eyebrow at Astrid. "Odin is the biggest secret of DragonTech. Ever wonder why our tech seems so damn advanced? Well, it's because Hiccup builds it with Odin. Tests and math that would take a team of engineer's weeks to do takes Odin hours. It's part of why there is only a single person who works the top ten floors of this building." She explained.

Hiccup got to his feet, shucking the jacket off and tossing it carelessly over the couch. "I'm getting a drink. Rachel? Astrid?" She looked up, suddenly registering that her name had been said. Still a bit stunned, she just shook her head at him. He turned and said something to Ruffnut and then walked to his kitchen.

When he got back, she had managed to get to her feet, still quiet and trying to process. Why it was such a shock to her was sort of obvious, but at the same time it wasn't. Odin had never been a part of her day to day until this very second. It wasn't even like she had noticed anything weird about the building. Nothing about this information _should_ shock her, but it did.

Hiccup handed a glass to Ruffnut, and Astrid could smell the liquor from where she stood as both of the heads took long drinks. The two of them stared at her for a second before Hiccup chuckled. "You seem unsure. Ask him anything." He said.

Astrid thought about it for a moment, not really sure what to ask an AI. Technically speaking, it should know everything there is to know. If what Ruffnut had said about its capabilities, this Odin should know the answer to any question. A thought reached her, and she looked up to meet Hiccups eyes. They were still stern and not wholly friendly, which was understandable considering what had transpired between them. She thought that maybe her question might be too subjective but…the thing was a fucking artificial intelligence. It damn well better know.

"Odin?" She asked the air lightly, looking around like something was going to jump out of a corner at her. When nothing happened, she met the eyes of her bosses again. Ruffnut mouthed 'louder' to her, so she took a deep breath. "Odin?" It was loud enough this time.

"Yes, Astrid?" She jerked for a second, a bit thrown off that it knew her name. She shrugged it off, remembering that it was a computer program. If probably knew everyone who worked at DragonTech by name.

"Would Hiccup only be so generous to get me to sleep with him?" She asked, and winced as both Hiccup and Ruffnut rolled their eyes in irritation. They looked about to say something when the program came back.

"No, Astrid. In my lifetime, Hiccup has always been honest and generous with his time, money and assets. Since he has come to be the owner of DragonTech Robotics, Hiccup has entertained the company of four female companions in a romantic fashion. All four were unassociated with this company, and were, as popular media refers to them, 'gold diggers.' Each one was specifically interested only in what Hiccup could obtain for them with his money." Ignoring the last part, Astrid cocked an eyebrow at Hiccup, who found something very interesting to look at on the blank wall next to him. Odin continued his explanation.

"You used the term generous in your question, which is the perfect term to answer your query. Hiccup uploaded to my system all he could regarding his own family history, going back as far as a Norse settlement known as Berk, which existed in present day Denmark, on a small coastal island. The Haddock clan mantra, as passed down from parents to children was the phrase _"Selv med_ _ingenting, Vær_ _sjenerøs,"_ Which translates most accurately into American English as, "Even with nothing, Be generous." Hiccup uses a shortened version of this mantra, just _vær_ _sjenerøs,_ as the passcode to this penthouse. In summary, generosity is not something Hiccup does to win favor. It is his family legacy."

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 **I hope you all enjoyed!**

 **AN: I will lay this information now. This is not going to suddenly leap into crazy sci-fi.**


	17. Chapter 17

**If you can find and name the South Park reference in this chapter, I'll be quite proud of you xD**

 **Thank you so much those of you who reviewed! I appreciate your words!**

 **Important messages come below this chapter.**

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Things were pretty surreal in the beautiful penthouse right now. Astrid sat there, next to two of the most powerful people within the entire company, as she had come to discover that Ruffnut was, technically, Hiccup's second in command of everything, and what were they doing? Not discussing expansion plans or takeovers of other companies. Not using their absolutely ridiculous amounts of money to buy islands in the Pacific, or yachts with helipads to get to those islands. They weren't getting ready to build a DragonTech space station to bring robotics to space. No…they were fighting over who got the last crab rangoon.

"It's mine, dammit!" Ruffnut growled, trying to yank the small morsel away from Hiccup with her chopsticks. Hiccup, for all his usual professionalism and near regal demeanor, fought back just as hard.

"I'm the CEO here! My money paid for this!"

"Sixty bucks you cheapskate!"

"This cost sixty dollars!? You didn't tell me you were ordering from the high end place!"

"We always order from there, doofus! Why do you care!? How much do you have in checking?"

"Five!"

"Add about seven zeroes! Gimme!"

"No! And it's only six! It's mine, Rachel!" By this point, the two of them had risen in their chairs and were glaring at each other, neither of their utensils now on the little fried pastry. Astrid flicked her eyes between the two cautiously before subtly reaching down and taking the rangoon, popping it into her mouth. The two moguls glared at her suddenly, their mouths hanging open as if angry words were about to come. When nothing appeared to come to mind, they plopped back into their seats, both of them once again regarding each other icily.

Hiccup spoke first. "You see what you caused now?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, slapping the table with a single hand. "Oh come on! If you had just let me have it, then we wouldn't be in this situation!"

Hiccup folded his arms on his chest. "Oh, so you want crab rangoons that bad? Odin, I want three hundred orders of rangoons sent to Rachel's office!" Astrid couldn't help but allow her grin to burst through. These two were literally acting like two little kids!

"Oh yeah?" Ruffnut taunted. "Odin, send six hundred orders to Hiccup's front door!"

"Odin, nine hundred!

"Odin, a thousand!"

"Odin, fifteen hundred!"

"Odin, cancel all of that…" Astrid sighed.

"As you wish, Astrid." The electronic voice chimed.

Hiccup glared up at the ceiling, his mouth open in offense. "I built you! Why are you taking her side!?"

"I'm the only one making sense?" At her words, both Hiccup and Ruffnut turned their eyes on her, glaring as if she was going to be set on fire. She rolled her own eyes. "Come on, you two. Over three thousand orders of crab rangoons to this building? You'd shut down Charlotte." She was pretty sure there weren't even enough Chinese places in the entire city to actually make an order of that size happen.

Ruffnut shrugged. "Oh well. I get the last one next time though."

Hiccup shrugged as well, putting his chopsticks down. "Fine." They sat in silence after that. Not necessarily an awkward silence, but just a silence born of high stress finally relieved. Or, somewhat relieved. Although they had not specifically talked about the whole issue that led to the whole fiasco, things were sort of figured out. Astrid now had her answer regarding if Hiccup was only doing the things he had done so far with the intention of getting physical favors. That was…Jesus, out the damn window entirely.

He had done everything, hiring her and being so generous with her conditions; sending her back to school; clearing all her bills; and, for the final act: he had given Luke the chance to walk again. All from the kindness of his own heart. Knowing that plunged her into a sea of guilt that penetrated deep into her heart and soul. To think that she acted like she had, despite the fact that he wasn't looking for _anything_ …it was tearing at her.

"How is Luke doing in school?" The question pulled Astrid from her thoughts, and she looked up into kind green eyes.

"Good…the kids have stopped picking on him…even if…"

"Even if he cannot walk just yet. It will come with time, Astrid. He hasn't used his legs in two years; there was probably next to no muscle left there." Hiccup finished for her.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's also changed things. He's one of the popular kids now, all because he has this fancy technology. I don't know it it's going to change his outlook or personality." Which was a legitimate fear. After having not been able to walk for so long and being the kid everyone picked on, it might be addictive for him to be the popular one for once. She knew that it was out of her hands and Luke had to figure things out himself, but it was still something that kept her up at night sometimes.

"I doubt that, Astrid. I do believe I can say with confidence that you and your mother have ingrained a love of family and kindness into him. Few families I know of can say they are as close as yours. Mine certainly wasn't."

"Neither is mine," Ruffnut threw in. "You know when I told you about Thanksgiving in Montana?" Astrid nodded. "Well, we can never get through the whole weekend without someone being disowned or some huge family fight breaking out. Normally it's rather funny watching my drunk uncles and cousins duke it out, but other than Tuff and me, the Thorstons are a splintered bunch." Astrid took some comfort in their words. It was true that as a family they had always been close, and more often than not they say that families who are close often stay that way through thick and thin. If what they had been through didn't count as thick and thin, then she didn't know what would count as such.

"So…what are you up to next week?" Hiccup asked, swishing the glass of whatever he was drinking around absently. Astrid shrugged.

"Hm…classes, but I have perfect grades, so nothing. Why?"

Hiccup took a long drink. "Every year there is a gala held for the largest companies on the eastern seaboard. DragonTech is the premier attendee, and the whole board goes. Due to…circumstances, I would like it if I could employ your presence…"

He didn't finish as Ruffnut threw a piece of battered chicken at him. "Eat that and shut up. You know, for a guy who used to be a ladies man you don't know how to do anything properly. Astrid, what doofus the clown means is he wants you to be his date for the gala."

Astrid's mouth went dry almost immediately under the twinkling eyes that Ruffnut had fixed her with. Hiccup was asking her to go to a gala as his _date_? What did that entail? What message would that send to other people!? Oh god, what would this do to the rumors that she had slept her way into her job!? Her warring mind spilled over into her face and Ruffnut frowned. "What's up, killer?"

"How would that look?" She asked shakily. "I mean, with all the stuff that Helga starte-"

"Astrid, believe me when I say that the issue with Helga Sinclair was an isolated incident," Hiccup spoke up quickly. "And regardless of others opinions, the people who make the decisions around here know the truth of the matter. Going with me to this gala would do nothing to you. I took a lovely young lady from Accounting last year and nothing out of the ordinary happened."

Ruffnut scoffed. "Until she tried to blow you in the limo…on the way to the airport…before we even left Charlotte."

Astrid paled at the very idea, the very image that brought to her mind. Hiccup glared stonily at Ruffnut before turning back to the stricken girl. "I promise you, Astrid, that this will do nothing to your employment or any of the other conditions we have in place for you. Think of this as a small vacation, just for a few days."

Even though she still had plenty of misgivings, Astrid knew that she wanted to do this. No matter what weird tension had been going on between her and Hiccup, she would have accepted anyway. Her concerns about what other people in the company will think were still there, but she was done believing that management wasn't on her side. As long as she didn't do anything that was extremely inappropriate or in the wrong, she would be fine. She nodded with a small smile.

Ruffnut clapped her hands together. "Perfect! Do you have a gown?"

Astrid nodded slightly. "I have a dress that I got from Belk…" She trailed off as Ruffnut started coughing obnoxiously, holding her hands over her ears.

"No offense intended killer, but this gala is the top of the line, which means that your _gown_ , not dress, _gown_ , also needs to be top of the line. You're coming with me. Right now." The girl got up suddenly and went towards the door.

Hiccup slid his chair out. "Patience Rachel, let me get something decent on…"

Ruffnut spun around, a sarcastic glare on her face. "What for? You aren't coming."

The CEO stopped in his tracks. "What? Why not?" Astrid got up and went over to stand with Ruffnut, crossing her arms on her chest. In an amusing way, the tattooed therapist had more power than Hiccup did. In a way, she could be called the second CEO, but it was a way that Astrid was comfortable with.

"Because, doofus, gown shopping is a girl thing." She turned around to start for the door again, Astrid following. Hiccup spluttered behind them before yelling at their backs, a hand extended helplessly.

"You wear a tux! How do you like gown shopping!?"

* * *

Astrid sat in Ruffnut's admittedly insanely awesome car. Astrid didn't nerd out on stuff normally, but this car was fuckin' sweet. Painted a dark blue, low and sleek, contoured to look as streamlined as possible, and it was fast too. Just sitting in it felt like she was in a new world. They pulled out of the underground parking garage and onto the main road smoothly, like water flowing down a pipe.

"Now, killer, you gotta pay attention here," Ruffnut said. "There are some things you'll need to be ready for when we get to the place we're going to. Lesson one: _don't_ friggen touch anything. Punz is crazy about perfection, and putting fingerprints on anything fucks with her OCD or something. Lesson two: _do not_ …I repeat… _do not_ talk to, say or do anything about Pascal. Don't even look at him. You'll see when we get there. Lesson three: _Do_ inform her of how beautiful her hair is. Again, you'll see when we get there, but know that you want Punz on your side, and complimenting her hair is the way to go. Finally, lesson four: _Do not_ even remotely mention parents or caregivers or anything like that. Punz is real fucked up in that category because she was kidnapped as a child or something like that and her faux mom was a bitch. Get all that?"

Astrid listened to all this and grew uneasy. Where exactly was she being taken? Wherever it was, it certainly didn't feel or sound like somewhere she _wanted_ to be. This Punz person sounded like some sort of vicious monster who also happened to do something with gowns. A tailor, maybe? She simply nodded, which mollified Ruffnut enough so that she didn't impart any more crazy lessons.

The drive ended nearly ten minutes later, and Astrid was all smiles with Ruffnut's strange version of road rage and insults. The parking garage they were in now was small, with hardly even ten spaces, and even stranger was that there was only a single car in there. Normally, parking garages in the city were much larger, and much fuller than this. Ruffnut parked her car next to the other one and they got out. At the end of the garage was a single elevator door.

"Alright, remember those lessons I told you." Ruff said as they approached it. She jammed a finger on the button and stepped back, turning to face Astrid. "One more thing, killer, and this is important."

Her jovial attitude from a little while ago had gone, replaced by a serious pall. Astrid swallowed nervously. "Okay…"

Ruff crossed her arms. "Seeing as you accepted this first request, you'll probably become Hiccup's go-to for formal events…" She held up a hand as Astrid opened her mouth to protest. "Before you say anything, just hear me out, and try not to take offense, because it isn't intended." The elevator arrived and the two of them got on it.

"You don't come from money. I know it, Hiccup knows it, and the entire board knows it. So, the things you will be exposed to from now until this gala is over will be stuff you have _never_ seen before, and it might overwhelm you a bit. Take for example where we are right now. Punz, short for Rapunzel, is the DragonTech tailor for Armani clothing. The gown you will be getting fitted for today will run anywhere from six to ten thousand bucks. Money rules the world you'll be heading into. Anything and everything is based on it, and it's the only thing that carries any respect. I'm warning you; when we fly out to Miami, you stick with us. Parties like these are passive aggressive gatherings of sharks trying to get the better of each other by any means necessary. Another warning; being the girl Hiccup walks in with will make you public enemy number one for women in there. I shit you not; a lot of the time, women in there are high class escorts _paid_ to try and end up in bed with a big CEO to try and start a scandal."

Astrid's mouth fell open in disgust. "What? Are you serious?"

Ruffnut nodded. "No foolies. Hiccup is the big man at these kinds of parties, but especially at this gala. So here is the advice I want to give you: from the moment we get on Hiccup's jet, you need to be with at least one of us at all times. That includes Scott, if you have to. I doubt that will be necessary, but it might be, so be aware. Chances are you'll just be with me the whole time anyway."

Astrid had just a moment to ponder what all this meant before the elevator dinged and the doors began to edge open. In front of her lay a wide open floor, marble with a small raised dais covered in carpet. All along the edges of the room were dresses on mannequins, elegant gowns and skimpy cocktail dresses all over. On a large rack close to the dais was an assortment of fabrics, tapes, embroidery, thread and other seamstress materials.

"Punz!" Ruffnut yelled into the room, walking around like she owned it while Astrid simply walked to stand just in front of the dais, her hands clenched firmly in front of her. When nobody came out to see them, Astrid wondered if this Rapunzel was out at the moment. She was about to suggest it when Ruffnut smirked.

"Wow…" She walked over to a flowing white wedding gown. "This wedding dress looks _real_ soft…I wonder how it fee-"

"Don't fucking touch it!" A scream echoed from somewhere, frightening Astrid from the high, piercing tone of it. She jerked her eyes to a door that ripped open, revealing a young woman with ridiculously _beautiful_ , long blonde hair. Astrid had thought, initially, that Ruff's warning foretold a hideous woman, but this Rapunzel was simply stunning. If she swung the other way…wow.

Ruffnut smirked, placing her hands on her hips and tsking. "Language Punz!" She crowed.

The blonde glared daggers at Ruff, going to a drawer and snatching what looked like hair pins from it. "Don't language me, Thorston! You come in here and try to damage my artwo-"

"You hair is beautiful…" Astrid's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over mouth. How could she have just…blurted that out like that!? While Rapunzel was talking to Ruffnut! God, she must look so fucking idiotic! Ruffnut sniggered, nodding in silent admiration of the move, while Rapunzel eyed Astrid critically.

"Spin." She said shortly, twirling a finger. Astrid did it without thinking, slowly turning in a circle once to the left, then again to the right. The tailor's sharp eyes followed her, and when Astrid came to a stop staring at her once again, she smiled.

"Slender waist, nice hips and butt, firm legs, a bit large in the thigh but that can be sexy, clear skin, beautiful neck and upper back, straight posture and secretly large bust. Athlete, clearly. I assume this is who is coming for a gown?" Astrid went as red as could be at the woman's observations of her, especially the bust part. Astrid usually wore a sports bra everywhere, but she didn't think she was _secreting_ away her boobs.

Ruff nodded, coming to stand next to Astrid. "Yep. Going to the East Coast Business Gala in Miami as Hiccup's date. You know what that means."

Rapunzel scoffed. "Plenty of whores going to be sizing her up, and plenty of other egotistical idiots judging her about her clothes. Well, they're no match for me. What's your name, beautiful?"

"Astrid."

Punz clapped her hands together. "Beautiful name. Sounds like a Valkyrie. Perfect for Hiccup and his Norse ancestry. What's your last name?"

"Hofferson."

"Perfect. Hofferson and Haddock take the room. Pascal!"

From the room that Rapunzel had come from just a few minutes ago came a…something. It looked like a dog, maybe a poodle or something like that, except it had been completely shaved. And it was green. Pascal trotted over to Punz and sat down, tongue lolling out happily. Around his neck was a roll of something, and upon closer inspection, Astrid noted that it was a measuring tape.

Punz took the tape and unrolled it with a sharp flick of her hand. "Now…measurements!" Astrid swallowed deeply at the near manic look that she was getting from the tailor.

* * *

"My god." Astrid groaned, sitting down on her couch at home, throwing her feet up on the small ottoman they'd bought a few weeks ago. That tailor, Rapunzel, had literally measured every conceivable body part Astrid had. _Every_ body part. That included putting her in very nearly agonizing positions so that she could be measured. Ruffnut had guaranteed that anything Punz made was well worth the pain, so she took everything in stride.

"You look uh…wiped out sis," Luke commented, and Astrid glared at him with barely concealed contempt. She got to her feet and marched up to him…and stared straight into his chest. Now that the little bugger could stand, he was taller than her, and she had to look up at him now.

She poked him sternly. "Hey! You aren't supposed to be on your feet! Back in the chair!"

He pouted, retreated from her slowly. "Aww, but sis! I'm okay, I swear!"

She narrowed her eyes up at him, pointing a finger at his chair, sitting nearby. "Luke, you will sit down right now, or I will pour water on your foot and then you won't have one!" Her glare narrowed even more when he smirked triumphantly at her.

"It's waterproof. Hiccup told me."

"Luke, I'm your therapist. Get in your damn chair, right now." She said sternly, allowing no smirk or smile to work onto her features, and Luke seemed to sense this. Wordlessly, he sat down in his chair, an apologetic look on his face that made him look like a sad little puppy. Astrid sighed and went over, kneeling next to him and taking a hand.

"I just want this to work out for you, Luke, without any more complications. I know you want to be up and about again, but you must give your legs time to get strong again. This will all be for nothing if you hurt yourself trying to walk before you're ready."

He nodded, smiling at her cheekily. "I know sis, and I just like to mess with you is all. Ruffnut and Tuffnut made me promise to listen to you, and if I do, then they said they'll get you to jump off the top of DragonTech."

Astrid scoffed loudly. "Oh whatever. I'll never do something so crazy."

Luke sniggered in his seat. "Oh, I think you will. Ruffnut said that she would find a way for you to do it."

"I'm not jumping off that building!"

Luke laughed loudly, his hands up in surrender. "Alright! I believe you!"

* * *

 **I hope everyone enjoyed!**

 **Because I have some poor news for you all. Due to time demands and the upcoming storm of assignments that is about to crash on my head, plans have to be made. I hope all my readers know that I love and appreciate every single one of you for your support and kind reviews. In the interest of bringing you the best writing that I can, I will have to initiate a brief hiatus to Only at DragonTech. I refuse to force out rushed, subpar chapters, and that is the primary reason for this.**

 **This hiatus will be exactly 1 month. That is all. During that time, I will not post any chapters, but I will be working on this story. Hopefully, in my spare time between work sessions, I can get enough done to bring you a double upload on the 26** **th** **of November. Also during this time, I will open a poll. This poll will ask whether you wonderful readers would like a normal epilogue, or an extended epilogue to this fic. Of course, I shall also present the option of a sequel, but I will only do that if support is enormous.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Apologies abound readers. Due to things getting a little out of hand on my vacation (including leaving my computer at home accidentally!) I wasn't able to update while I was away, and maybe worse, I wasn't able to write at all! So unfortunately I cannot bring you a double update.**

 **I hope that this chapter redeems me a tiny bit!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"No."

"Come on, it's fun."

"No!"

"We've all done it!"

"'We've all' is only two people!"

"Three actually. Hiccup did it."

"You are such a liar!"

"Okay yeah, I am, he didn't."

"So I'm right. 'We've all' is just you two."

"Isn't that enough?"

"Ruffnut, I am _not_ jumping off the top of DragonTech." Astrid stated firmly, sitting in her room, legs crossed in her chair, kitten pictures on her computer and the Thorston siblings lounging on her furniture. Next to Astrid, Toothless slept peacefully in his big, fluffy dog bed. Astrid didn't know when she became the hangout spot for the twins, or the location that Toothless spent nearly all of his time in now, but more and more often they were in there with her.

Tuffnut, laying on her patient bed with one leg slung off the side, laughed. "You can't actually jump off the building dude. City codes. Here, 'Jumping off the building' is code for skydiving."

Astrid shook her head, covering her eyes with her hand. "I wonder how many Boards of Directors out there have code phrases for potentially deadly activities…"

"Only at DragonTech," The twins answered her simultaneously. She blinked in mock shock, pretending to be overwhelmed by simply too much Thorston for a single person to handle. Since the Boston trip, Luke getting his prosthetic and the reveal that Astrid would be Hiccup's date for this gala, she had been right next to best friends with the Board of Directors. Tuffnut came by all the time now, Gobber and Valka usually texted her regularly, and Snotlout even spoke to her a bit without being aloof and arrogant.

Ruffnut looked up from where she was laying on her counter. "Punz get back to you yet?"

Astrid groaned, dreading the moment when that insanity riddled tailor called her. "No. I'm getting a bit nervous. We're leaving in a few days."

Tuffnut snorted out a laugh. "Punz always comes through. She'll have your dress rea-" A pencil hit him and he glared at his sister.

"It's called a gown, stupid," Ruffnut snickered. Astrid kept a careful eye on the two, making sure that no utensil war was going to break out, as it had done before. For Directors in a huge company, they really messed around more than she would think when they were together. "No wonder you can't find a girl."

Her twin threw up his middle finger lazily, not caring enough to even say anything, and the comfortable silence resumed as Astrid simply relaxed. She had no appointments scheduled today, and classes at UNCC had not resumed yet. As expected, Astrid had passed everything perfectly. Even Dr. Parr's class. Heather had also passed most of her classes, and she and Astrid had remained in contact over Christmas time. They would be taking only one class together again, and Astrid even suspected that the girl changed her schedule to make that happen.

Astrid's fame within the physical therapy department at UNCC was still as widespread as could be, even if the belief that being friends with her would lead to future employment had fizzled away. It really made trips to see her advisor strange, because the older woman was nearly buffeting with her questions about the company. Most times, Astrid had begun to schedule their appointments as early in the morning as she could. That way, she didn't have to contend with all the questions from everyone in the entire building.

Luke had continued to be a mixture of amazing and frustrating ever since he got his prosthetic. Now, he could walk relatively well for about a half an hour to an hour before getting tired in the legs. There had been some issues with chafing early on, but those had been solved for the most part. Having him come to see her for his therapy made family bonding so much better too, because she knew where he was having problems and where his strengths were in terms of recovery, so she could get him to do some good stuff at home so he was always getting stronger.

Since her makeup with Hiccup, the CEO had been…back to normal, for the most part. He still hardly ever showed his face, and even when he did, it was barely for a few moments. The part where he'd changed, was that he called her quite frequently now. If only for a few seconds to warn her about his pet.

Toothless came down to her office all the time now, and she wondered how he got to the 23rd floor so well on his own. Until she'd found the lift. It was a small elevator set into the back hallway of the floor, right near Ruffnut's main room. A dog sized elevator, with buttons that corresponded to each Head. All Toothless had to do was smell them; as nearly creepy as it was, she'd been told that each button was scented, so he could smell who he was looking for.

She wasn't sure where they got her scent from, but she had an idea that Ruffnut was responsible for it. The Head always seemed to be conveniently in the know about how weird things happen around Astrid, and her missing shirt didn't help either. Regardless, Astrid had long since gotten over her fear of the giant dog and now he was a constant presence in her room. A few patients had really enjoyed having him there, and Astrid had to note that he was always gentle with those who were just starting out with their therapy.

Just as she was thinking about what she wanted to do for lunch, her phone began buzzing loudly on her desk. The sound woke the male Thorsten, who'd fallen asleep at some point, and startled him, making the man roll off the table and flop to the floor with a thud.

Now, some time ago, Astrid would have leapt up and made sure the man was alright. After having spent so much time with the twins, she did what she always did. Ignored it and went on with whatever she was doing. Which was answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Are the Thorstons in your room?" Hiccup's irritated voice came through on the line.

She sighed dramatically. "Of course. Where else do they go?"

"Tell them if they don't get back to their floors in the next minute, I'm docking their pay for a year."

Astrid relayed the message, and both the twins did exactly what she expected. Nothing. "They told me to tell you that you wouldn't." She snickered, watching the two of them grin.

"Put me on speakerphone then," Astrid did, shrugging.

"They can hear you."

"I will personally burn your wingsuits and parachutes." Before he had even finished all of his words, the two Thorstons were up and scrambling for the door, running to the sound of Astrid laughing at them. She got up and closed her door behind them, not wanting anyone to come in and bother her some more.

"I assume they've run off?" Hiccup asked, his voice echoing into her empty room. Toothless glanced up at her phone, grumbled and rolled over, his tongue lolling out.

"Yeah. They weren't actually bugging me." She ventured. As annoying as they could be, the twins normally just lazed around in her room. That wasn't even remotely irritating, and she knew that the second she asked them to, they would leave. It was only when she had patients that she got mad if they showed up. Ruffnut never helped her on appointments now, so if Astrid had someone, then she barred the Thorston from her room. Unless Ruff pulled rank which…that never happened.

"Bullying them is just fun, that's all," Hiccup chuckled, and Astrid smiled widely. Their small phone calls had given her such a large insight into his life and his personality, and really, he often didn't act like a CEO when they were on the phone. "How did the therapy with Luke go yesterday?"

"Good. He's gotten much stronger. I wanted to talk to you about it, actually…Luke has some…questions for someone with a prosthetic. Wanted me ask you about it."

Hiccup put something down on a desk, and Astrid heard the distinctive sound of Odin saying something in the background. "Come up to the 39th. Lab four." Hiccup said, and the line died. Astrid stared at the device in her hand, shaking her head. She wondered if he knew that he did that. Just hung up after saying something like that. In a way, it was endearing that she was noticing something like that about him.

She had hardly left her room when someone ran up to her. "Hey! Hey Astrid, can you look at this?" Astrid took the forms from the other therapist and glanced over them. Being floor lead, as she'd been promoted, made her the one who signed off on plenty of stuff from others on the 23rd. She'd needed to go to some training, led by Fishlegs, Gobber and Valka, but it was a small price to pay for what she could do now. She was queen on her floor. A benevolent queen, but queen nonetheless.

"What is this for?" She asked, finding a handwritten note asking for permission to have balloons and cake in his room.

The therapist looked nervous and shifty, but he answered. "Well…my daughter's birthday is coming up soon, but I have some really big appointments that day, so I was going to have a little party with her and a few of her friends in my room…"

She grinned widely. "That is so cute! I have on condition though."

"You get to have cake?" He ventured, cocking an eyebrow. Astrid glared mockingly at him.

" _And_ I get to meet your daughter." She signed the forms and handed them back, the man thanking her profusely and hurrying off. She heard the clicking off a certain dog coming up behind her as she started to resume her trip to the elevator, and he caught up fast. He stuck his nose between her knees and forced himself in, leaving her standing there, split legged and staring down at his adorable face. "You know, I have no idea why I like you." She said to him. Toothless only barked lightly before scampering off towards the elevators, like he knew where she was going.

She smiled, following the bouncy animal to the lifts, where he simply couldn't sit still. When the elevator finally came he bounded inside. She hit the button for the 39th floor and spent the rest of her time somehow corralling Toothless so he didn't break something. The doors opened and the dog trotted off, apparently keenly aware that he was on a floor where he would get in sufficient trouble for breaking something. She quickly found lab 4 and went to the glass door. All of the labs up on the 29th and 40th floors were paned with clouded glass, so one couldn't see inside without opening the door.

Which she did. And proceeded to not breathe for long series of moments. Before, Hiccup was shirtless and sweating, leather gloves on his hands and toolboxes laying everywhere. It was boiling in this lab, and Astrid wondered where the famous air conditioning had gone to since she entered. Around Hiccup was a massive frame of…something. It was steel, that much was clear, and she could see multitudes of wiring coming from separate parts.

"Hiccup!" She yelled over the sound of the blow torch in his hands. He couldn't hear her, so she yelled again over the din. When that didn't work, she was going to walk around so he could see her, but suddenly, the torch turned off. Hiccup spun around, glaring at the ceiling.

"Odin! Why did everythi…oh. Hey. Sorry." He waved sheepishly as he finally noticed that she was there. Thankfully, he didn't notice how wide her eyes were, or how they were glued to everything except his eyes. The CEO, who had almost always been draped in a suit of some kind, was built like an Olympic swimmer.

He was all sinewy muscle in his chest and back. His shoulders were surprisingly broad, and she could wash jackets on his abs. She allowed herself to stare for another few moments before shaking out of her reverie and realizing that he was talking to her. "Uh…what?"

Hiccup eyed her strangely. "What are you staring at?" He asked.

Her neck lighted with flame and no doubt turned as red as bright neon paint. "Oh…just uh…this thing you're working on!" She exclaimed loudly, walking up to it and thankfully taking her eyes off Hiccup and his ridiculously toned upper body.

She heard a hum behind her before Hiccup stepped back into her view. Dammit. "This is a frame for a robot that I've been contracted to build. It's been a long process, even to get this far." He explained, planting his hands on his hips and surveying his work, looking quite proud of himself. "When I'm done, this thing will be the top of the line exploratory exosuit."

Astrid cocked her head to the side. "Exosuit?"

"A robotic exoskeleton designed to allow a user to go where they would not be able to normally." Odin chimed in from all around her. "This suit is being specifically built for NASA, as a method of allowing large scale human interaction on surfaces such as the moon."

Hiccup eyed the room critically. "Odin, there is something called confidentiality. I'm pretty sure I programmed that into you."

"Judging by your company, Hiccup, there was a ninety one percent chance you would have explained fully as well."

Astrid smiled softly at the irritation that bled into Hiccups face as he turned around and started seemingly arguing with nobody. At every point he made, Odin came back with such simple conclusions that it just frustrated the CEO more. It was like watching a game show or a comedic sci-fi piece as the AI and man went back and forth like old friends. Finally, Hiccup threw his hands up.

"Fine! You win! I'm leaving. Don't follow me."

"I am wired into every inch of the top floors of this building, including your home."

"Shit…" Hiccup muttered. He stopped and looked over at her. "You want to go for lunch?"

"You already ate, Hiccup." Odin remarked.

Hiccup whipped around and pointed at the ceiling. "Hah! But you can't follow me out to get food!"

* * *

"This place is amazing!" Hiccup exclaimed, sitting back in his seat and rubbing his stomach. He had just wiped his fingers off from the simply giant beef ribs that he'd had, and the macaroni and cheese probably wore him out a bit too. Astrid sat across from him, still chewing on her own ribs and laughing at him.

"You didn't even finish!" She prodded, nodding down at his still uneaten food.

He laughed a rich, genuine laugh. "Honestly, have you ever had gourmet food? Not poking fun at your economic status or anything, but have you?" She appreciated that he made the distinction that he was well aware that she probably had never had something like what he was talking about, and shook her head. He leaned forward and used his fork to make a small pile out of his macaroni and cheese. "You pay two hundred bucks for this much food. You don't really get used to mountains of food for twenty bucks."

Astrid nodded in her agreement, immediately making the decision that she would hate gourmet food. Though she was curious to try it. "Nothing to worry about with that stuff here with the _commoners_ , my lord."

Hiccup made an exaggerated gagging noise. "Please don't call me that. Difficult enough to convince people that I'm not trying to get them into be-" He didn't finish and clapped a hand over his mouth, but the damage was already done.

Astrid's eyes welled up, threatening to pour over, but she held them back silently. She knew what she'd done. She knew that, upon Odin confirming that Hiccup was as good a person, she would be plagued with guilt. Usually it came late at night, or early in the morning when she was heading to work. Sometimes if flared when she was on the phone with him, and normally she was left with the feeling for the rest of the day. The feeling settled deep in her stomach and sat there, as heavy as a thick steel ball, constantly reminding her of her own terrible misconceptions.

"I didn't mean that…"

"I know what you meant," Astrid snipped, tossing a fifty dollar bill onto the table and heading to the door. She hated that she was mad at him for saying it, because in reality, it is him who should be angry, but she couldn't help it. She heard a muttered swear and a chair scraping out from the table as she walked out the door, and Hiccup was soon standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," He pleaded, his shoulders sagging. "I didn't mean it, truly. It just slipped out. I do…I don't really think properly when I get comfortable."

She sighed, biting her cheek to push back rogue sobs trying to escape from her. She knew that ultimately, it was her doing that made that comment even mean anything. Hiccup was the one who had suffered at the hands of her wild imagination, and thus she had no right to be angry with him. For a few moments, she just stood outside in the cool air, getting back her composure. When she finally did, she smiled as hard as she could. "Do you want to see something?"

He paused for a moment before nodding. "Sure…uh…what is it?" Astrid walked towards his car, pointing at it.

"We have to drive there. Come on."

Ten minutes, several turns, and hilariously watching Hiccup jump a fence saw them laying on a synthetic, rubbery surface at the track of Winthrop University. The early afternoon sun and breeze made things soothingly comfortable temperature wise. The track and field team was away for a track meet, so they had the place all to themselves.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" Hiccup pondered, his head resting on his hands, folded behind his head. "Not that it's bad or anything, but I'm curious."

Astrid shrugged from where she lay. "This was my dream."

Hiccup sat up, propping himself up on his left arm to look over at her. "Your dream? To be a track?"

She threw a petulant glare at him before shaking her head. "I was a state runner up in the four hundred meter dash in high school, and my time was really good. I was on pace to be an athlete here, before the accident..." She felt a frog form in her throat as she thought about the day her father died and her brother was confined to that wheelchair. "Track was my first love."

Hiccup looked around the wide open space, carefully inspecting each part of the complex. "Color me surprised. I thought you were a soccer player." Astrid didn't respond to his words because many people thought that about her. Track was relatively low on the scale of sport popularity, and therefore most people thought about a different sport first. She got up from the track surface and went over to the high jump mats, sitting down on them with a nostalgic sigh.

She spent many hours at the track working as hard as she could. She knew that an athletic scholarship would definitely help her go to school without costing too much money, so she took steps to make sure that she made it. Her father dying changed all that, but still…sometimes she thought about where she would be if he hadn't died. Would she be at school still? Would she be on the cover of a sports magazine? She would never know. Of course…she would never have found this job at DragonTech had all of that not happened. She would have never found Ruffnut, Hiccup, or Valka. She would never think that she would have the chance and opportunities that she'd had up to this point.

It was all tough to stomach for her sometimes. Yeah, she was in a good place now with DragonTech, being a floor lead and even going with Hiccup to this Gala in Miami, but not all of it was on her own merits. She wanted control of her life. She wanted it to be a case where if something happened, she would have the abilities and resources to handle it herself.

A light tough on her thighs brought her out of her memories and she looked up into Hiccup's kind face. He was standing in front of her, his hands resting on her thighs lightly, her knees on either side of his legs. "I'm sorry, Astrid. I wish there was something I could do…"

Her own hands rose and cupped his face. "You've done enough…" She whispered, leaning up and pulling him down so that their lips could meet in a first and tender kiss. Though it started innocently enough, with their just holding their kiss, soon Hiccup leaned forward, moving his hands off her thighs to rest beside her. Her hands left his cheeks and wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her as she leaned back.

She reveled in how soft his lips were, and how strong his neck felt under her touch. His hands, when they were on her thighs, were both gentle and firm at the same time. She knew that she was violating everything she spent weeks and month agonizing over, but she just couldn't handle it anymore. She wasn't going to play more games with him. She wanted him, and now that she knew she wasn't playing into his hands, she was going to take him.

A flick of her tongue across his lip, and she was in, sliding past his own tongue as it entered her mouth. She let out a moan as the kissing intensified, and she felt a warm ember begin to burn in her belly. They paused to breathe, staring into each other's eyes, neither of them saying anything, and neither of them moving.

Until the very pointed clearing of a throat tore them both from their dreamworld and their eyes to the right, where a woman stood, glaring at them. Across the track, they could see a whole crowd of college athletes staring over, some cheering, some laughing and some doing gestures to the air that most people would only do in a bedroom.

"That isn't a mattress, you know."

Hiccup, who hadn't actually moved yet, only stared at her, but Astrid was mortified and shoved him off. "Sorry…I thought you guys were gone this weekend…" She mumbled.

The coach shook her head, an amused eyebrow cocked. "We were supposed to be. Snowstorm up north put us off by a week. I can see that we're all adults here, so if you want to do this again, come next weekend _but_ …If I catch you again…don't let me catch you again."

Astrid nodded, staring anywhere except the woman's eyes and began a brisk walk towards the parking lot. She heard Hiccup speaking behind her, and then a light laugh come from the coach, but she had no interest in turning around and continuing her embarrassment. The walk wasn't aided at all by the catcalling athletes of the team, and even if some of their calls were in support of their outdoor escapades, she was still hurrying to get away.

Once in his car, both she and Hiccup sat silent, staring out the windshield and thinking about the event. Less being caught, and more about what they were doing. It really was a spur of the moment thing, but Astrid found that she felt…right doing it.

"That uh…" She looked over as Hiccup started talking to find him grinning sheepishly. "That is not the first time I've been caught doing something like that."

Astrid shook her head, smiling gently as she reached over and took his hand in hers, twining their fingers. "Shut up..." She said softly.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed it!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello readers. I come to you today a humble man, asking for your forgiveness and imploring you to remain patient.**

 **The last weeks have seen two of my best friends pass in unrelated accidents, both far too young to be buried. The strain and stress of it all has reduced my writing abilities to near zero. I cobbled this chapter together in my moments of good mood, as well as edited it to try and make sure that it was up to par.**

 **I have not much else to say. I will try to get another chapter out as best I can. Enjoy.**

* * *

"You fucking exhibitionist!" Ruffnut cried in excitement, pushing Astrid's door open way too hard and banging it against the wall. "You smooched your boss! In _public_!" Her grin was far wider than Astrid had ever seen it before, and she was breathing hard as if she had ran all the way here. Which she probably had. She finally slammed her hands down on Astrid's desk, heaving like a wild animal. "How was it!?"

Astrid had assumed that Ruffnut would find out about her and Hiccup's escapade at the track, but she wasn't sure why she had ever thought that Ruff would be mad about it. Her own elation at the event bled through and she smiled shyly. "I'm not gonna tell…"

Ruffnut's eyes narrowed into a pointed glare. "Don't play coy with me, woman."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow at her boss. "Coy? What makes you think I need to tell you anything?" She swung her legs up and rested her feet on her desk, leaning back.

Ruffnut stood up, crossing her arms on her chest and setting her weight over her right hip. "Nothing I guess. What made you do that though? Wasn't two weeks ago you were all worried about him trying to get you into bed."

Astrid sighed, throwing her head back and covering her face with her hands. She really wasn't sure what had prompted her to go after him like that. Of course, not that she was really complaining about it, because he really was a good kisser, but Ruffnut was right. It wasn't long ago that she was making a huge deal out of sleeping with him, or being in any sort of relationship with him, and now she was practically fawning over the single memory of how soft his lips are and how strong his hands felt. She let out a groan of uncertainty, not sure where to go from here.

"You look like a teenager agonizing over her first boyfriend," Ruffnut deadpanned. "Just tell me dude. Do you like him? And I mean him. Not his money, or his power, or his building. Just him. Cause if you don't…"

"I do!" Astrid exclaimed finally, a little louder than necessary. When she had a moment to breathe and thought about it, she took her feet of her desk and laid her head on her hands. "I do like him. And I know what I did before was shitty. And I don't know what to do now." She bemoaned, kicking herself mentally for everything she'd done.

Ruffnut jumped up to sit on the counter to the left of Astrid's desk. "Go for it dude. All out. Best way to prevent shit from going wrong is to be ridiculously clear with what you want. Go and fuck him in one of his labs."

Astrid looked up, an absolutely mortified look on her face as what her boss had said processed through her brain. "Are you serious? Why on earth would I ever do that!?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "Oh. That's what I did."

Astrid's eyes bugged out. "You fucked Hiccup in one of his labs!?"

"No idiot. My husband. Jesus Christ woman, why the hell would I sleep with Hiccup?" Ruffnut gave Astrid a bored glare as she tore apart the wrapper to a chocolate bar she had inexplicably acquired. For several moments, Astrid ignored the statement in lieu of thinking back on her issues with Hiccup, at least up until the words fully processed.

"You're married!?"

Ruffnut looked surprised. "Yeah dude. How do you not know this?"

Astrid pointed, her eyes wide. "You don't wear a ring! And you still use your family's last name!" Who could she be married to? Who would ever be insane enough to marry Ruffnut, all the skydiving and stuff aside!?

Ruffnut shrugged. "Professional reputation and a little something called nepotism. Can't have family members holding high positions. People get all mad about it."

Astrid, slightly thankful that the subject had minutely changed, frowned at the word. Fishlegs had mentioned something about it as well, but she cast it off. Must be a big deal in the business world. Her haven was short-lived, as Ruffnut was apparently not willing to drop this tasty bit of info she had somehow become privy to.

"Anyway, enough about me! What made you kiss him!?"

Astrid glared at her boss. "How did you find out anyway?"

Ruffnut scoffed loudly, an eyebrow cocked. "How did it take me this long to find out is more like it, killer. Very little goes on in this building that I don't know about."

"We weren't in this building," Astrid shot back, smirking triumphantly at her tiny verbal victory.

"Stop dodging the fucking topic, woman!"

Astrid sighed, exaggerating the action as much as she could. " _Fine_. I don't know. Things just got a little emotional and I said 'fuck it' and kissed him." The words made her think back on her decision and the dilemma that she's left with now. How does she approach Hiccup to begin talking about it? She couldn't just leave it alone. That wouldn't be fair to him. Of course, not that she's really been fair with him in the recent past.

After a few more minutes of loitering, Ruffnut figured out that she wasn't going to garner any more juicy details and left with a guarantee that she would be back soon. Astrid only offered an absent wave in response before falling back into her thoughts. They left for Miami in a week, and she would have to come to a decision on what to do about this.

What if she took Ruffnuts advice and _did_ go ahead and trap Hiccup in one of his labs for an hour of sweaty sex? Would that be too…loose of her to do? Would he mother frown at her doing it…oh yes. Mom would definitely disapprove. Maybe, for once, she should make use of the resource that was her mother.

She picked up her phone and dialed her mother's number, staring at the wagging tail that had just entered her room. Toothless strolled in and flopped down on the bed that sat in her room, his tongue lolling out lazily as he relaxed. Finally, after a few rings, the phone was answered.

"Hey Astrid."

"Hey mom…"

She heard a lightly motherly cluck come through. "I know this voice. What's wrong, dear?"

Astrid laughed sourly, covering her eyes with her free hand and leaning back in her seat. "That obvious?"

Her mother laughed lightly. "A mother always knows."

Astrid nodded to herself in agreement. Her mom always did know. "It's about…a guy…"

"I believe his name is Hiccup, dear. Did you forget?"

With a short, sharp gasp, Astrid recoiled on herself. "How do you know!? I would never crush on my boss!"

"You didn't deny it, sweetie."

For several moments, Astrid simply sat, stunned by her mother's shrewd verbal sparring and the gentle laugh emanating from the phone. The therapist closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine, I admit it. Yes, it's Hiccup. Do you have time to talk?"

"Always dear. Tell me what happened." Astrid crossed her legs and settled in to tell her mother what had happened.

XXX

Hiccup sat on his couch, a glass in hand and his phone in the other. He had just showered up and gotten clean from the sweat and general nastiness that came from working in his hot lab. There was usually so much heat that built up in that room from the welding equipment and machines that it became a sauna. Except it was a sauna that didn't leave one smelling the best. And no massage either, which sucked.

He had been hoping that the news of his public show with Astrid would stay in Rock Hill and not make its way to Charlotte, and generally that was true. Granted, he doubted any of those kids on that track team paid enough attention to the news to notice that he was in fact a billionaire CEO. He had told Rachel about it, of course, and the woman had promptly gone to torture Astrid about it. It was okay in his mind to tell her because she understood the whole PR game. She wouldn't intentionally spill. Intentionally being the operative word there, but he had faith.

He was silently wondering about something that Astrid had said to him that day. The whole reason she had wanted to meet with him in the first place. Something about Luke and things that people with prosthetics can do. Having not had the conventional high school experience that most had, he was curious as to what it might be. The thing they had spoken about months ago, dancing, was completely in his capabilities now, and even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be the prosthetic that keeps him from that. The Achilles is specially built to act just like a real foot…joint movement and all. Couldn't be that…

He sighed and thought about the day. It was Tuesday, and early afternoon. Almost two o'clock. If he recalled correctly, Luke would be out of school right about three. He smirked to himself and got up, calling for Toothless. When he didn't heard the dog come running, he shrugged and figured that he must be with Astrid. Hiccup left his penthouse and into the elevator, hitting the button for the garage.

"Odin, make sure this elevator stops for nobody. And send a text to the other heads that I will be gone for a few hours." He said, and the AI acknowledged briefly.

Humming to himself as he got off at the garage, Hiccup ignored the several messages that his phone received. No doubt the others asking where he was going, but they should know and understand that when Hiccup 'leaves the building', he doesn't want to be disturbed. Not that they cared, because they bugged him anyway. Trevor and Rachel on purpose too.

His car purred to life and rolled soundlessly out into the streets of Charlotte. Watching everyone go by, happy and enjoying simply walking around the city, Hiccup wondered what it would be like if he lost all his money. He had never been a greedy person, at least not since he reformed himself, but he would be naïve to admit that it wasn't a huge role in his life. He hadn't once yearned for something because of money. Hell, if he wanted it, he could buy whatever he wanted. He wasn't held back by anything. What would things be like if that was the case?

Things were always done how he wanted them, and that was because he had the money to make that a reality. Others weren't so lucky. Like Astrid had her family. They were the best of people, but life dealt them a tough hand. He wasn't dealt a tough hand, and he was a good person, but their lives were entirely different as a result. He shook his head, banishing the thoughts. Part of his whole philosophy on life was not dwelling on things that wouldn't change. Until he could build something that would change them, of course.

The traffic was light enough that getting to Rock Hill was easy, and once he was off the highway, Cherry Road and the infamous traffic lights there stunted his drive. He fought through and was soon standing against the side of his car in the parking lot of Luke's high school. He sent a text to his mother that Hiccup would drive the boy home so she did not waste her gas. It was a nice place, lots of students, plenty of teachers and a relatively new school building.

His own high school experience only amounted to private tutors who came to the house, so he really didn't ever have the chance to go to public school. He had been inside them plenty of times since becoming CEO for charity events, and Luke is not the first high school student to be a tester for one of his products. He just never sat in the seats or mingled in the social scene. Which he was getting a front row seat to right now as the final bell rang and students poured from the building.

He quickly identified cliques among the student groups. Jocks, heading towards the sports fields with duffle bags of equipment. Preps, their collared shirts and ridiculous shorts and loafers walking towards nice cars. The popular girl group, flipping their hair as they clicked across the parking lot in wedges or heels. The social rebels, wearing black clothing and sporting tattoos, piercings and already pulling cigarettes from pockets. He witnessed those who were trying to survive in the middle of it all, with no clique to call their own for various reasons, whether that be lack of physical talent to be a jock, or generally considered to be too unpopular to be seen with.

And, interestingly enough…Luke walked with none of those groups, but appeared to talk with students from each one. No single group avoided him or ignored his calls, and several students ran over to speak with him. Granted, he struck an imposing form. Being confined to his wheel chair had made him seem small, but the boy was actually tall. At least six feet and a few inches. Hiccup had no guide to go off of, but Luke was taller than him, and he stood just under six feet. He had acclimated well to his foot.

It was during one of Luke's talks with a pretty girl with long red hair that he finally noticed Hiccup, and that was only because they girl pointed him out. At the sight, Luke quickly excused himself from her and hurried towards the car. With an interested view, Hiccup noted that the girl had a forlorn, longing look at Luke's back as he left their conversation. A look that spoke volumes about something that was going unrequited in that particular friendship.

"Hey Harry!" Luke exclaimed, walking up briskly.

"Luke," Hiccup greeted with a dip of his head. "How are you?" Luke had strangely never taken to calling him Hiccup. One of very few people who actually called him by his given name.

The boy grinned widely. "Oh great! Things haven't been this good in a long time! We're gearing up for Spring Formal and this week a lot of people are asking for dates." Hiccup quickly made the connection to the red head who had watched Luke leave with longing in her stare.

He wanted to fan the flame, but he couldn't do it in any obvious way. Rachel would murder him if he made it too obvious. "Have anyone in mind yet?" He questioned innocently. Luke nodded emphatically.

"Definitely! Really hot junior girl. Her name is Aurora. Spicy blonde!" Hiccup frowned internally, seeing a huge blockade in his path of matchmaker. This girl sounded like one of the popular clique, and the redhead most certainly came from the more rebellious group. He sighed, seeing this as out of his skillset. Rachel would be much better suited to this task. Whatever. Things would work themselves out.

"That's good to hear. How is your foot?"

Luke did a quick jig, ending with his good leg up and only standing on the prosthetic. "Great! I feel awesome!"

Hiccup smiled at him. "That's what I like to hear. Astrid told me that you had some questions. Thought I might come out here and talk to you in person…" Hiccup trailed off as his eyes registered a group of people coming up to the pair of them, an attractive blonde leading the way.

"Hey Luke." She said, and even from this distance, Hiccup could hear sultry and suggestive inflections in her voice. Now getting a good look, this girl was leading a crew who would be better described as lapdogs.

"Hey Aurora," Luke said, turning around to face her. "What's up?" So this was Aurora. At first glance, Hiccup could see why Luke wanted to go with her to this formal. Calling her spicy was a bit of an understatement, as this woman was wildly developed for a high schooler. Probably had crowds of boys at her beck and call, all of them hoping that she would favor them just a little bit more than the next guy. Being someone who was a veteran of the role, Hiccup frowned.

This girl was a manipulator. A con-man for the social structure of the school. Hiccup had never been in a traditional high school setting, but even he could see that Aurora had most likely clawed her way to the top of the social food chain, climbing over anyone she could to get there.

"What's up is this car!" She exclaimed, stepping around Luke and running her finger up the hood. "It's sexy!"

Luke laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, well, Harry has a lot of money, so he gets to drive nice cars." He gestured to Hiccup as he spoke, and immediately, the girls piercing stare was on the CEO.

"Your car? Well…it's nice to meet you, Harry," She came around the car and offered a glittering smile. "I'm Aurora."

Hiccup smiled gently, bowing his head ever so slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He said in his practiced, measured tone that he used with reporters. Not a single bit of it was genuine, but he had endured so many annoying reporters that fake sincerity was second nature. "Luke, if you'd like, we can talk abo…"

"Are we going to work on that geometry project, Luke?" Aurora interrupted. "We can go to your house to do it if you'd like." Hiccup only cocked an eyebrow in annoyance, watching the exchange.

"Y-yeah! If that would work. You can follow us home." Luke stuttered through the words as he quickly opened the car door and dropped inside. Aurora gave a sultry smile at Hiccup.

"Will you wait for me, Harry?" The way her voice sounded made Hiccup shiver and his stomach twist. It was rather disgusting to have a junior in high school talking to him like this. She was little more than a child, but she already knew how to throw her sexuality around like a weapon. He was revolted by her, but Luke was trying to get this girl to go to the formal with him, and the boy had already fought through enough hardship for one lifetime.

He nodded. "Certainly." He opened his door and got in the car, watching Aurora saunter away, her pack of hounds following her unquestioningly.

"You don't like her," Luke said from next to him. Hiccup looked over with a sidelong grin.

"That easy to tell?"

"She intimidates me."

"Then why are you trying to get her to go to formal with you?" Hiccup asked. Luke looked around for a moment or two, seeming to struggle with his words. Finally, he shrugged in a small, defeated manner.

"Really, that's not it at all. She actually came to me and made it pretty obvious that if I asked, she would say yes. I don't really know why because she's bar none the most popular girl in school. Tons of guys have made it pretty clear to me that if I don't accept, I'll be the dumbest idiot in South Pointe High School…"

Hiccup nodded in full understanding. "I see…well, do you _want_ to take her?"

Luke sat up straight in his seat, glaring forward. "Can I be honest with you?"

"Always."

"I think she's only trying to go with me because I became really popular all of a sudden, after I got this prosthetic. People started to really like and respect me, and I think that she's trying to get her own piece of the pie. So to speak."

Hiccup smirked over at him. "So…"

"No I don't want to go with her, but what choice do I have? Everyone would think I'm insane if I turn her down."

Hiccup grinned, starting the car and firing the engine, speeding away from the parking lot. Luke didn't protest that they left Aurora there, but he did turn around in his seat and look. "So…I should say no?" He ventured.

Hiccup shrugged. "You can say whatever you want, Luke. I won't influence you in any way."

Luke smirked, sitting back. "But we're just leaving…"

"No influence!"

Luke shook his head, letting a laugh fall from his mouth. "Ok, whatever you say Harry…anyway, you wanted to talk?"

Hiccup shook his own head. "It was your sister who told me that _you_ wanted to talk. Something about your foot?"

Luke shook his head slowly, scratching his neck. "No…I haven't had any questions about it…I mean other than…maybe that's what it was."

Hiccup looked over briefly, a blank look on his face. "And…"

"Well, a friend of mine was asking me if I can swim with this thing. I assumed no, but I mentioned it at dinner the other night. Maybe Astrid thought it was more of a serious thought than it was."

Hiccup smiled widely, allowing a laugh to rumble from his chest. "Luke, I am so happy that this line of thinking came up. Do you have swim trunks?"

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 **So yeah. Sorry again about my absence, but life doesn't play fair.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello readers. Struggling through this time as I am, I have found some solace in this writing. Retreating to the world of DragonTech helps alleviate the strain of my current life state. Anyway, enough moping from me. This chapter sends Astrid to Miami, and then next chapter will be the Gala. There is more information below regarding future plans.**

 **Thank you all for your kind reviews. I read them all and appreciate them.**

 **Now...MHJohn64th. You have simply loads of questions and thoughts that would simply take too much for me to answer here. Why don't you send me a PM, and we will slowly work through all your questions. Answering all of that would nearly be longer than this chapter, so we will handle that privately.**

 **Many of you extended condolences, and I thank you for that.**

 **Enjoy, and have a good week.**

* * *

"I cannot believe you!" Astrid exclaimed as they boarded the DragonTech private jet, Hiccup in front of her and Rachel cackling behind her. The CEO wore an apologetic look on his face as he suffered Astrid's wrath. "Luke had a date lined up and you screwed it up for him!? Why would you do that!?"

Hiccup had just now learned that his taking Luke away from Aurora had backfired most spectacularly with the popular blonde burying Luke in a storm of social bombardment. He'd been labeled as the 'idiot of South Pointe' and word was that he'd become the target of a tidal wave of abuse. This all came from a very angry Astrid, but that wasn't really bothering him. He could deal with anger just fine. If she was disappointed in him, that would be different.

However…Luke himself seemed perfectly okay with what happened. Hiccup had been texting with him nonstop since that day, and the boy actually appeared to be happy with the way things had gone down. On top of that, he had himself a _different_ date. A lovely redhead by the name of Merida, whom he was certain was the other girl from that day at the school. Hiccup suspected that maybe there was a bit of hormonal action going on here; Luke may not want to be talking to his sister about his potential romances. Fairly amusing, actually.

"Astrid, the girl is a predator. Just talking to her set my nerves on edge. It'll be better for Luke to not deal with her." He said calmly, taking a seat and crossing his legs. Astrid sat directly across from him, still fuming.

"Why didn't you call me about this? I'm his siste-"

"Astrid, do you really think that your brother wants to be asking his sister about girls?" Trevor asked, sitting on Astrid's right, while Rachel sat on her left.

Astrid nodded emphatically. "Of course! I _am_ a girl, in case you didn't know!" She rebutted, crossing her arms angrily. Trevor held up a finger to her, a strange and unsettling smile on his face.

"So, you're prepared to hear all his hormone riddled questions and… _observations_ about tits, asses, porn, sex, blowj-"

Astrid recoiled. "Alright no! But please don't continue with that thought!" She gagged.

Trevor grinned victoriously. "Exactly. The kid needs to talk to a guy, not his sister. Face it, Astrid. This is beyond your abilities. Plus, Hiccup was a ladies man. Luke is gonna be pulling in chicks like no tomorrow."

Astrid's eyes narrowed dangerously on Hiccup, and the CEO's face fell in innocence. "What?"

"You better not turn him into a ladies man!"

Hiccup shielded himself from her onslaught. "I won't turn him into anything! I promise!" He pleaded with a grin on his face. Astrid was probably angry with him, legitimately, but he knew that this was superficial in nature. He'd done nothing that wouldn't be fixed with a brief talk and maybe a stern word or two. Rachel had often told him about Astrid's intense feelings about her family and how her normal mood would be seriously altered if her family came into the spotlight.

"Astrid, chill," Trevor remarked. "Your bro will only become a ladies man if that's what he wants. We can't make him do it."

Astrid was unwilling to accept this explanation. "You can influence him!"

"Influence him to make good decisions is all we would do, Astrid," Hiccup interjected. He was elated to see that Astrid deflated a little, meeting her eyes and hoping that she saw his true intent. Maybe things had not gone so smoothly between them, but he really did like her. He wasn't going to bounce around with maybe I should, maybe I shouldn'ts, he wanted that woman. He wanted her badly, but after the beginning to the relationship, he would go about it without the use of money. Well…without money being the spotlight, at least.

"Two hours to Miami. We'll make this ride as smooth as possible." The intercom sounded with the feminine voice, and Astrid looked up curiously.

"Was that Anna's voice?" She asked.

Hiccup nodded, pointing towards the cockpit door. "Yep. She and her wife are pilots as well as security personnel. Kristoff is here as well, sitting in the cockpit with them." He said, closing his eyes and settling back into the leather chair. He would need this time to sleep, because the next few days were going to be hectic.

XXX

"This is not our hotel room." Astrid deadpanned, standing in the middle of the room while Ruffnut tossed her bag into one of the bedrooms. They had been in Miami for all of an hour and Astrid was already wondering what else she might see on this little trip. Their plane had landed, and then a limo had met them on the tarmac, with Chinese food inside. Ruffnut had been responsible for that last bit.

Then, they drove to this simply colossal building, rode the elevator to the top, and split up there. Ruffnut and Astrid were sharing was appeared to be an entire apartment, which led to her words. Ruff simply laughed at her. "No it isn't our hotel room. This is our penthouse. Where we will be staying until next week. So get your jaw off the floor."

The penthouse of this hotel had an entire wall that was just glass panes, which led out to a pool on a large balcony. Everything was either marble or leather, along with simply exquisite wooden flooring. A television that was just…obnoxiously huge, and king beds in separate rooms. She eased down onto the cool, thick leather of the couch and just rested her head against the back cushions, her mind venturing towards things that have been coming up recently. When they were in Boston, she spent time looking into opportunities where she could take control of her own fate.

When she was investigating that, at home in front of the TV or at work when she had no patients, she felt ecstatic that she would finally be in control, not be a victim to the cruel forces of circumstance. Time like this though…sitting in opulent penthouse suites, on her way to a ball as the date of a billionaire and his closest friends, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Sometimes she thought that maybe she should just submit herself to Hiccup and be his plaything in exchange for lifelong comfort.

Of course, then she smacked herself mentally for even remotely thinking that she would be Hiccup's plaything. She knew that he wanted so much more from her, and she had an inkling that she wouldn't remotely mind being his, because she genuinely did feel something for him. All the signs were there, and all the signs told her that she should dive into this thing. A small, terrified part of her didn't want that though. Didn't want to bring someone else into the fold of the people she cared about. The more people were in your circle, the more chances you had of being hurt. Not even by them, but by things that could happen despite them. Things she couldn't control. Like car wrecks.

She'd heard back from one of the opportunities that had come up. A chance that could change things for her, but it was one that would bring her away from DragonTech. Did she want that? She was earning, and experiencing, far more here than she would anywhere else, but the facts were there; if things went sour between her and Hiccup, she could be waitressing again within a month, and that would lead her and her family straight back to square one; being poor and struggling to make ends meet.

She knew that if she pursued this, then she would undeniably have to do it on her own. No Hiccup. No Ruffnut. No Fishlegs. Not even Valka for that matter. She had a feeling that any one of them would immediately shoot her down and say that she had everything she needed right there at 1502 West 1st Street. Which she…did.

A hard sigh escaped as she thought more on it than was needed. She would either have to go for it, or leave it alone and be at the mercy of chance and circumstance her whole life. It was a question that was slowly destroying her peaceful moments of being awake, and was seeping into her nightmares as she slept. Those nightmares always consisted of the same thing; she and Hiccup fighting and losing what relationship, friendship or romance or whatever it was. Him firing her, and then bang. Back to living month to month because she had no backup plan if she lost DragonTech.

Undoubtedly, this chance would ensure that she had a future if DragonTech did go bad, but the things she would have to do in order to take advantage of it would be so bad. Hurt feelings were almost granted as a side effect, but she could deal with hurt feelings if it meant she could guarantee a good life for her mother and her brother.

"Why you looking so worried, killer?" Ruffnut asked, shoving a glass of something into her hand. Astrid smelled it and smiled widely.

"Whiskey? Well well, Ms. Thorsten, are you propositioning me?" She snickered as Ruff's face became a thundercloud.

"First, yes, I love whiskey. Second, fuck you and don't call me Ms. Thorston ever again. Third, I'm not Hiccup, so don't be trying to get some lovin' from me!"

Astrid laughed wildly at the mock anger of her boss and friend. "Whatever. Why the whiskey?"

Ruffnut held out her glass and Astrind tinged hers off of it. "Because, doofus, we have the first and second day all to ourselves, so I invited the crew over and we're all gonna get toasted!" She downed the glass that she had in her hand with an exaggerated gulp. Astrid did the same to her own drink, the burn of alcohol sliding down her throat bringing with it a comforting feeling. Maybe throwing her cares out of the window for a night would be fine.

Hours later the warm, soft edged haze of whiskey and good company filled Astrid's vision, and the cool caress of the pool making her body feel like it was floating. She had no idea when exactly they ended up in the pool, or how she ended up there in her lacy underwear, but it had happened. Nothing else had happened, like her deciding that kissing someone was fun to do or anything, but this night was turning out to be great fun.

She and Ruffnut had been a bit drunk already by the time that Tuffnut and Fishlegs arrived. Soon after, Kristoff, Anna and her wife Elsa arrived as well, and the two women were quite drunk as well. Apparently, they'd been drinking since the moment the plane touched down and the poor blonde man had been their designated driver.

The strangest thing of the night is that Astrid had finally discovered who Ruffnut's husband was. She had never pictured the rebellious, thrill-seeking, tattooed physical therapist to be married to a calm, straightforward man like Fishlegs, but there they were, cuddled on the couch that somehow had been dragged out onto the balcony to the side of the pool. Drunk Ruffnut was way different to normal Ruffnut, because it seemed that alcohol balanced her out a bit.

She had been laughing and joking with them, but soon, she got drowsy and had been laying against Fishlegs' side for the past half hour. Astrid had stopped drinking a while back, and she had regained some form of control of her faculties, although she would still undeniably fail a breathalyzer.

"Come on you," Fishlegs chuckled, getting up from the couch and picking up is wife at the same time. Astrid watched as crazy, slightly insane Ruffnut turned into a mewling little ball of cuteness.

"No, Frankkkkyyyy…I want to keep cuddling…" She mumbled, burrowing into her husband's large chest. Astrid got out of the pool, leaving a pair of women, married and drunk as hell, getting quite frisky in the pool. Kristoff had left some time ago with instructions to call him once the party was over so he could come pick up his sister and her wife.

Although she was dripping as she followed FIshlegs, and only dressed in her lacy underwear, she wanted to see the man put his wife to bed. She had no idea that Ruff would become like this, and she was curious about it. Maintaining her balance, she made it all the way to the doorway to Ruffnut's room, deciding to stay there lest she fall over going further into the room. FIshlegs gently flicked the covers back, holding his wife with a single arm before depositing her on the soft mattress. He covered her and leaned down, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"Why don't you stay together?" Astrid asked, only lightly slurring her words, not enough to confuse understanding.

The large man looked over to her with a gentle smile. "She told you about us?"

Astrid shook her head. "Kinda. You told me that you were married, and she told me that she was married, and I sorta…" She intertwined her fingers in front of her face. "Put it together."

He rumbled a chuckle. "So it would seem. Rachel and I love each other, very deeply. So deep in fact, she and I don't mind being apart on trips like this. We live together in Charlotte, and that is enough. Besides…" He looked at her with a grin in his eyes. "The sex is great."

Astrid closed her eyes and held a hand out. "Don't want to know." She laughed along with the larger man, and the two went quiet for a minute, both looking at Ruffnut's sleeping form. Finally, Astrid cleared her throat.

"Fishlegs…what uh…what internships are good for physical therapists?" She asked. He looked over at her with a cocked eyebrow, and obvious question in his silence. Astrid scrambled and pulled the first thing that came to mind. "One of my classmates asked me to find out from you guys..."

FIshlegs nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, the best internships for any physical therapist are in two places. One of them is with the University of Otago in New Zealand, which is one of first physical therapy schools in history. Their program works with the All-Blacks rugby team, consistently one of the best rugby teams in the world. You know much about rugby?" Astrid shook her head gently. "Very physical, and nearly no protection to speak of. Graduating from that program is incredibly difficult, and they do not require any previous degrees because people fail out extremely fast. Essentially, if you're good enough, you stay in, no matter what your past is."

"And the other?" Astrid asked, the very idea of that place scaring her to her bones.

"At Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle. A more traditional program, requiring at least a Master's degree for entrance. As far as American internships, that one is the best, and quite tough to graduate from. Certifications from either of these programs would guarantee you entrance into any job regarding therapy."

She whistled. "Wow. Heather is going to love those options…"

Fishlegs perked up at the name. "Oh! How is she?" They had met a few times when Heather came to the office with Astrid. The perfect scapegoat for the research that Astrid was doing.

"She'll be better now, thanks Fishlegs!" Astrid slurred excitedly, suddenly lurching forward and almost falling over. A strong hand steadied her, and she found herself staring into the other head's face.

He smiled. "Okay. Time for you to lay down as well. I uh…I won't tell Rachel about this incredibly promiscuous underwear you're wearing either." Astrid ignored him and allowed herself to be steered to her own bedroom, where she unceremoniously closed the door on the large man, stripping down and laying on her bed, lights left on. She lay there for at least an hour, hearing the door open and close several times, which she assumed was Kristoff coming to pick up the others. Her eyes closed finally, her alcohol riddled body succumbing to the fluffy mattress and pillows, and images of green eyes in her mind.

XXX

 **As I said above, next chapter will be the Gala itself. I foresee….five more chapters, give or take one on each side.**

 **Some information.**

 **Generally, it appeared that people wanted a sequel to this, and I am fine writing that sequel. I will, however, be taking a break from the fandom after the culmination of Only at DragonTech. I really would like to wait until HTTYD 3, but two years is a very long time. I suppose that the break will last long enough for me to think of an appropriate plot for the sequel.**

 **Should any of you wish to put forward ideas of your own, I would be more than happy to credit you, should I make use of anything you suggest. If you send me something, I will write down the idea, as well as your name, in a separate document for the future.**

 **Enjoy this, and I will try my best to get the next chapter out within this next week to ten days.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello readers!**

 **Sorry it's been so long. I have no excuse really, just life being difficult is all.**

 **That being said, in order for me to be able to churn chapters out a bit better, I will write shorter chapters. They will run from 2000-2500 words, generally. This is to make sure than I can write chapters and get content out to you all without long breaks like this.**

 **Please let me know what you think about this.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Tonight was the night, and he couldn't wait for it to be over. Hiccup never enjoyed this Gala. He spent most of the night listening to stuffy businessmen pitch him their wild ideas about what the best way to run his company. Some would try to tell him why the best move he could make was to partner with them on a project, and _only_ because it was simpler, that DragonTech should just fund whatever that project might be. Even though the product would eventually be sold by their company, and _not_ DragonTech. Events like this only made him wish that he could avoid them.

Possibly worse was the known presence of women who, for better or worse, only cared about money and came to these events in search of snotty CEOs who wanted an unattached night of pleasure. In the end, that night would turn into a scandal, and things would go bad and money would be exchanged. Hell, some might even outright pay prostitutes at events like this for evenings. Most years, Hiccup never even reached the dance floor. However…this year, he suspected he might.

Rachel being Rachel had ensured him that she would steal all his prosthetics and make him jump around on a single foot if he tried to sneak a peek at the gown that had been delivered for Astrid. He actually considered the validity of the threat for a brief moment before relenting and agreeing to not look at it. He was genuinely curious about it, because this was really the first time he was interested in his date. Of course, Astrid and Rachel had been sequestered in their penthouse since this morning, Rapunzel having arrived some hours ago, to his great surprise. He wasn't expecting her to come by, but rationalized that Rachel probably arranged for travel.

If she was coming to do Astrid's hair and makeup, as well as dressing the girl, then he expected literally the best. Rapunzel played with nothing less than the best materials and styles. The reason most of DragonTech's board wore silk was because of her. It was her fabric of choice. All of them had been exposed to her addiction to the material, and nearly all of them wore it regularly.

Himself, Gary, Trevor, Frank and Scott were meeting downstairs to wait for the women to finish getting ready. It was already seven thirty, and they were due at the venue at eight for the red carpet. Hiccup had worn his finest; a jet black silk tuxedo with premium leather shoes. His jacket bore his classic two button style with the top button done. A blood red linen shirt sat beneath it, along with a black tie with the dragon head emblem of DragonTech stitched on in red. His long hair was pulled into a tight pony tail, tied off with a gold cinch that mirrored the emblem in design.

He wore his beloved thick face gold watch, along with his father and mothers wedding rings, as well as a ruby studded ring that he became obsessed with a year back. He admitted silently to himself that he actually really put an effort into his look this year because, again, he really cared about his date this year and everyone knows that impressions are everything. Upon reaching the lobby, it was easy to find his fellow board members because this hotel was always reserved for the Gala. Meaning that it was full of people who would be attending, and therefore full of people who were currently fawning all over the illustrious members of DragonTech.

Kristoff, Anna and Elsa had expertly placed themselves in a way that kept people at a comfortable distance from the heads of the company, and all that was needed to deter adventurous fans was Elsa's piercing, icy glare. Hiccup chuckled as he came to stand next to her, noting the brief smile she offered as respect. "Relax Elsa. They aren't dogs." He said quietly.

She snorted. "If I give them a chance to lick your shoes, what do you think will happen?" She asked back.

He nodded his head in acceptance. "I'll need to go get new shoes. Alright, you win." She shared a quick laugh with him and he went up to the table, taking a seat next to Gary. The large man whistled, looking his boss up and down.

"Really pulling it all out this year, eh? Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain blondie, would it?"

Hiccup shook his head, snorting in mock laughter. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughed, knowing deep inside that a certain blondie, as Gary had referred to Astrid, was exactly the reason for his going all out. Previous years had seen him with some random girl he found at places, whether it be an employee or not. Generally speaking, he'd only brought a date because Veronica insisted he do it.

Gary laughed, his breath hitting Hiccup and the smell of high grade Scotch wafting over him. The older man had already deemed it time to get sauced up so he can enjoy the party. "Already?" He deadpanned.

Gary stabbed a finger at him. "Oi, this is the one night I can literally sit on my ass and laugh at the idiots who think they can win you over. Let me have this one!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes but grinned. He would never begrudge the older man his pleasures, at least in this sense. A collective sound of ooos ahhs and hooting pulled his eyes from the ground to the stairs of the hotel, where Veronica was descending. She wore a form fitting gown of deep maroon, with black lacing on the outer corset. Her arms were covered in long, most likely silk gloves, bathed in the same rich color of her gown. He couldn't see her shoes, but he imagined them to be boots of some type.

She wore a lavish medallion with rubies and diamonds, as well as a solid black liner on her eyes. Her lips were painted such a dark red, it was nearly black. Her wrists rang with each step as several bangles clinked together, and she wore two rings on each hand, on her index and middle fingers. Kristoff quickly pushed through the crowd to give her a smooth path to the rest of them, and the men of DragonTech clapped as she approached.

"You gentlemen are too kind," She said sweetly as she approached.

"And you are beautiful." Gary admitted, curling his arm and allowing her to place her hand through it. Every year, to prevent the older pair from having to find dates, Veronica and Gary simply went with each other. For a while, Hiccup considered the possibility of the two of them being together in a romantic sense…but really, he enjoyed sleeping at night, and picturing that would not allow him a wink.

"Astrid and Ruffnut mentioned that they would be down momentarily." She said, standing and allowing Gary to take her small wallet and place it inside his jacket.

Hiccup let go of a breath he wasn't sure that he'd been hanging onto. Why he was so mind numbingly nervous about this? He was a man who had _everything_. Practically the king of his world, with power that could change the face of robotics. What didn't he have? Oh right. If he were to follow his own thinking, he was a king who didn't have a queen.

And as if in slow motion, he saw her. Absently, he had glanced at the top of the stairs to see her taking the first step down, and his brain froze over and shattered. He would have to give both Rachel and Rapunzel a raise or a bonus or something, because what he was looking at did not count as a normal person, a normal employee, or even the potential queen of his empire. No.

He was looking at a goddess.

Her golden hair had been twined in a thick, luxurious braid and placed in a bun towards the rear of her head. Smaller braids with jeweled beads hung from the larger bun, swaying with each step she took. Her gown was similar in style to Veronica's, but it was so different at the same time. The top of the dress had two, medium width straps that wrapped around Astrid's upper arms, leaving her perfectly smooth shoulders bare. Up to each elbow, she wore silk gloves, black with red lacing and a small, red striped ribbon at the elbow.

The gown itself was a luxurious red with black edging and a solid black corset. It hung to just above the ground, where Hiccup spied heels, clicking with a hypnotizing ring. Astrid's face was serenely colored, her lips bathed in a crimson lipstick, but her eyes were ringed in layers of liner, so artfully applied in greys and blacks that it made Astrid's lovely blue eyes even more beautiful.

Rachel, on the other hand, wore a tuxedo almost identical to her twin brothers, and a bowler hat over her hair. The people in the room completely forgot about Hiccup and the rest of the board, choosing to rush the stairs and the angel descending them. He was more than happy to let her soak in the attention, but when he saw her flinch at the bright camera flashes and the drop of her shoulders, he jumped.

"Kristoff, Anna, Elsa, please make a path for Astrid to the limo as fast as you can." He said, having taken Anna's mic from her ear and spoken into gently. "She isn't used to this."

As soon as he said it and gave Anna her equipment back, the crowds were being corralled by the security trio and their associates. Hiccup turned to the rest of the board, who wordlessly nodded and set out for the front of the hotel, skillfully ignoring the paparazzi and keeping their goal in mind. Hiccup wound through the people to Astrid's side, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm.

"You look beautiful," He whispered to her, both as a truthful observation and as a way of getting her mind off the cameras and the people.

She went to turn to face him, but he shook his head gently and nodded ahead of them. "We will talk in the car. Eyes forward, smile and walk…" He whispered.

She swallowed hard next to him. "What if I walk too fast or slow?" She asked in a frantic undertone.

"You just walk…I will handle our pace. Just smile and breathe…" He answered softly. Thankfully, her breathing steadied, and she matched his pace wonderfully. The pair walked slowly to the car, allowing the picture hungry reporters to get their fill. When they reach the large limo, specially designed so that the ladies would not have to bend to enter it, Hiccup held out his hand and helped her up, climbing in behind her and noticing, with wide eyes and a pulsing below his belt, that the gown left open a large expanse of her back.

He took a moment to calm his slamming heart before finishing his entrance into the limo. She was stunning; in every way. He would be hard presses to get through this evening without doing something about how euphoric his date was making him feel. They hadn't even danced yet.

"Thank god!" Astrid sighed, sitting down next to Rachel and covering her face with her hands. Before her hands could make contact though, Rachel slapped them down.

"Down, doggy! I don't want to be the one explaining to Punz when your makeup gets messed up! Don't touch your face!" She snapped. Hiccup couldn't help a smirk at the simply petulant face that Astrid wore after that, and even then she was beautiful.

"Cameras get to you a bit?" Trevor asked, pouring a shot from a bottle of whiskey that he had inexplicably acquired. He downed it easily, then poured another.

Astrid snapped her fingers at him. "Share!" She demanded. Chuckling at her, Trevor handed the liquor over and his date slammed it back like she'd been drinking her whole life. She handed the shot glass back to the machinist and took a deep breathe.

"How long is this night again?" She asked.

Hiccup leaned back with a groan. "Several hours, I'm afraid."

Veronica slapped his thigh with a tsk. "You are the center of this party, Hiccup. At least mingle."

He gave her a pouting look. "I hate mingling with these people. They just spend their time trying to get my money." He hated bringing up the real reason why he hated this event, because it was a bit ridiculous, but still. He wasn't a greedy person, but he hated the fact that anyone who spoke to him here was only focused on how much green he could pull from an ATM.

"You should just sit there and enjoy the attention," Scott remarked, rolling his shoulders. "Then you can enjoy telling them to fuck off."

Hiccup eyed the man in only bared concealed irritation. "I would never say that to another business owner, Scott. And I know you won't either." He replied dangerously. Scott had never endeared himself to Hiccup, but the man was a genius. He was needed to keep DragonTech on the cutting edge.

Hiccup's eyes were drawn again to Astrid and how beautiful she looked. For a long time in his life, he had been solely drawn to all things physical in women. With Astrid…not only was she far sexier than any of the other women he'd slept with, her personality and intelligence was far greater as well. She was the complete package.

He settled in to his seat and took a deep breathe. This was going to be a long night, but with that goddess as his date? Might not be as boring as it always was.

* * *

 **I wish you all a great week!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Welcome to chapter 22! Things will begin connecting here, and we get a brand new set of cameos!**

* * *

She took a deep breath before stepped out of the limo and into Hiccup's waiting arms. Within a moment, her hand comfortably placed in the crook of his arm, Astrid was assaulted by the storm of flashing lights and yelling that was the entrance way to this large convention center. She had no idea that things would be this way, and she would be a liar if she said that Hiccup's arrival at the hotel hadn't prevented her from breaking and running away.

Again, she put into her mind his advice from the limo. Breathe. Smile. Eyes forward. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe, woman! It was as if every single flash stole more breath and composure from her, and she gripped tighter to Hiccup's arm. So much so that he noticed and took steps to help her.

Without turning his head, Hiccup patted her hand in his arm. "Relax, Astrid…only thirty more feet." He whispered to her. She swallowed deeply and steeled her eyes for the barrage of flashing lights that the paparazzi generated, flinching as the cameras began their roar. When she had taken a moment to gather herself, she opened her eyes and put on the most dazzling – or at least what she thought was the most dazzling – smile she could muster. It must have worked, because the camera wielding reporters surged against the felt ropes towards her.

Kristoff and his personnel were there quickly, pushing the people back and even smashing a camera or two to send the message. Astrid momentarily wondered about the legality of such actions, but let it go, figuring she would find out later. Hiccup swept her, as fast as seemed appropriate, into the large venue and away from the greedy eyes and lenses of the public.

Once inside, he deftly led her to a bar in the main foyer, signaling to the bartender for something hard. She let go of a sigh, snatching the poured liquor and downing it in an instant. "Dear god…"

"Don't know what you're complaining about," Tuffnut snickered as he came over. "We had a clear path. Everyone was focused on you, sweet stuff."

Astrid glared up at him. "I'm sure they were looking at Hiccup, not me."

The CEO actually laughed. "Not at all, Astrid. I could have been wearing a dragon costume and they wouldn't have noticed me next to you. I would be ready for the tabloids to get those pictures ran." The DragonTech party walked off towards the doors, Hiccup telling Astrid to come find him when she's ready to mingle.

Astrid groaned and ordered another shot, which appeared before her as if by magic. She looked up and found that the bartender was simply standing on the other side of the counter, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. "Look like you're new to this world," He said, his deep voice clearly not American by any means. He was a thick man by all standards, tall and muscular, with tattoos running down his arms and long, silky looking hair. "Let me know if you need help finding your way." He took out a small card and flipped it, writing his number on the back. "Pretty girls can end up in some bad places after events like this. I try to help whoever I can. Name's Maui."

Astrid looked at him with a curious eye, wondering exactly what he meant by his words. She'd heard of some bartenders taking the time to help girls get home or to safety when things were getting rough in their chosen bar or club, but at an event like this, it seemed, out of place. Regardless, she thanked him and took his card, stepped away from the bar before shoving it down her dress and into the cups of her gown. Being a gown, there were no pockets on this thing, so he boobs would have to pull their weight tonight and hold that.

She entered the main room of the event and immediately, felt like she had entered another world. People milled about, dressed head to toe in the latest fashions and designs. She had no doubt that the amount of value in this room, simply in _clothes,_ well exceeded what was even remotely normal. She took a few steps in before someone sighted her, and she wished that it hadn't happened.

"Well sweetheart," A tall, wild looking man smoking a cigar crooned, sauntering up to her. "What a surprise you are!" Before Astrid could stop him, the man took her hand and kissed it, and again, she felt ridiculously out of place and weirded out.

"Uh…thanks,"

He grinned, his teeth bearing some disturbing color to them. "You're welcome. So…what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" He asked. Astrid was doing her best to search for Hiccup and the others while maintaining a respectable amount of attention to this…man. Who was grinning almost predatorily at her.

"I was invited by…"

"I don't see anyone, so now you're with m-" He reached out to take her hand and she flinched, but was saved almost immediately.

"Hands off, Donovan." Astrid spun around to find Snotlout, of all people, glaring at Donovan, who she assumed was the wild looking one who had been speaking to her.

The man sneered at Snotlout, stepping around Astrid. "Or what, _Snotlout_. Don't know how you handle being called such a shit name."

To his credit, the machinist shrugged. "Doesn't matter. She's here with Hiccup, so keep your hands off."

Donovan's manic smile fell to an angry glare and he stalked closer to Snotlout. "Oh don't you worry your little head, _Snotty_. Everything Hiccup has will be mine eventually." He puffed smoke in Snotlout's face before chuckling darkly and turning to Astrid.

"I'm going to enjoy getting to know you, Astrid. Stay in touch," He left with a disturbing wink and sly smile, laughing to himself. Astrid shook out the shivers that had run up her spine at the entire ordeal, coming to stand next to Snotlout. The machinist watched Donovan go with a grimace on his face, and Astrid suspected it was from the smoke that had been blown in his face.

"Uh…thank you for that…who was he?" She said slowly. She and Snotlout had not really had the best of time to get to know each other. She had been warned that he was a womanizer, and then the whole thing with him disagreeing with her entire hiring. All in all, the two of them had maintained a sort of super professional attitude towards each other in the few times they had interacted. Being the head of a completely different branch of DragonTech, they rarely had need to speak.

Snotlout sighed. "Donovan Dagur. Head of Berserk Industries, and absolutely obsessed with stealing Hiccup's empire from beneath him. He's been trying for what seems like forever to take over DragonTech, but he couldn't possibly pull it off."

Astrid nodded lightly, looking out at the crowd, searching for Hiccup. She vaguely remembered Ruffnut saying something to her about somebody named Dagur. She hadn't ever paid it much mind, till now that is. "Oh…well, uh…I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but thank you. I appreciate what you did."

To her surprise, her actually chuckled. "You're welcome. I know I'm an abrasive prick all the time, but for some weird reason, even after the way we met, I kinda like you. A lot of people in this world are out to get all they can, as fast as they can and at no matter the cost to others. You're not like that. In fact, you're a lot like Hiccup, in a lot of ways. Honestly, I think he's way too generous for his own good, but fuck if I can fault him for what he's done with DragonTech. He built this empire being the way he is. I won't argue with that. Often," She cracked a smile along with hi as they think about the many times that he and Hiccup end up arguing in meetings.

"Thank you, Scott," Astrid said, using his given name instead of the split in order to hopefully convey her honesty. "That was very kind of you to say."

He laughed and rolled his shoulders, which Astrid saw as him falling back into his usual self. "This year's gala is full of surprises. You and I on speaking terms, and Hiccup got pulled by some R and D rep."

Astrid groaned. "Not another person trying to get him to inv-"

"No, no, no," Snotlout interrupted her. "Someone wanted to float an idea, and it's actually a damn surprise, but it sounds intriguing. He's in that VIP room to the left of the stage. I'm going to go and get a drink. Take care, Astrid." He left without waiting for her to reply to him, and she found herself again alone in a world she didn't understand.

Making her mind, she strode confidently through the throngs of people, noting beautiful dress designs and several way over the top pieces of jewelry. It was amazing how at ease these people were, flaunting the things they were. One woman had an exotic parrot perched on her shoulder, walking around with a gold chain clipped to the birds left foot.

That was just simple example of things that she saw in the short walk across to the VIP room. As she got closed, she noted three people standing outside, and a sigh of relief went through her when she noted that one of them was Elsa. When she broke through the crowd and her eyes met the blondes, Elsa smiled. "Hey there. Come on in," She said briefly, stepping aside and pushing open the door.

Astrid thanked her and proceeded inside, finding herself in a lavish lounge, surround a large table laden with drinks. Almost immediately, Hiccup, who had been sitting calmly across from a young Polynesian looking woman, lurched to his feet. "Astrid! Welcome!" He took her hand a led her to the couch, and she let him, hoping that she wasn't breaking any rules.

Astrid sat down next to Valka, the older woman wearing a beaming smile and nursing a glass of champagne. "Welcome dear. Have a glass?" Suddenly, there was a full glass of champagne in her hand, and Astrid took it without thinking.

"Thank you…sorry if I interrupted…" She started.

The woman sitting across from them shook her head. "Not at all. I am happy to meet you. My name is Moana Motunui."

"Astrid Hofferson." She said back politely, smiling and raising her glass gently, as she had seen people do outside in the main room several times when meeting someone new.

Hiccup sat down once more. "Astrid, Moana has come to me with an offer. She runs the new projects group of a company called Te Fiti, based out of New Zealand, that focuses on tourism and hospitality."

Astrid listened quietly as Hiccup explained that Moana was looking for him specifically at this gala, and even more surprising, that she wasn't actually supposed to even be here. She had _literally_ snuck in to speak specifically to Hiccup Haddock about a business venture. Astrid decided to not think about how this girl could sneak into this place with all the security she'd seen, but she assumed that she was fairly resourceful.

"So…what do you think, Mr. Haddock?" She looked quite hopeful as she stared at him.

He laughed, a wide smile on his face. "Miss Motu-"

"Please, just Moana," She interrupted nervously. Hiccup smirked and gave her a charming smile.

"Only if you call me Hiccup."

The woman flushed red and Astrid felt a short pang of something that she clearly identified as jealousy. Hiccup was as charming as ever, and this woman, who was quite attractive, obviously was taken with him. Astrid figured that she might have a serious case of hero worship. Either way, she took a moment to compose herself before continuing to talk.

"What exactly is…this?" She asked, a small part of her wondering if she sounded obvious as she steered the conversation away from Hiccup.

Moana sat back, the redness receding from her face as familiar topics rose. "I am planning a line of extreme luxury cruise liners, and while Te Fiti has the hospitality know how, DragonTech carries the pure strength of technology that we need to put these new cruise ships at the top of the world in luxury."

Valka cleared her throat. "Of course. But, pardon me for being a bit rude, but what amount of contribution will we see from Te Fiti for this? I know next to nothing about your company."

Moana didn't look upset at all by the line of questioning, and seemed to brighten up when she started to talk. "Te Fiti is one of the larger hospitality and tourism companies in New Zealand. If you're asking in terms of cooperation, we are fully prepared to offer DragonTech access to all company resources…"

"I sense a but in there…" Fishlegs whispered, surprising Astrid as he sat down. She hadn't even heard him come in. Moana didn't seem to hear what he had said.

"In exchange for consulting on current Te Fiti projects and establishments."

As if surprised by the conditions, Hiccup allowed a genuine smile to cross his face. "Just consulting?"

Moana nodded. "Te Fiti is confident in our work overall, but we believe that some of our technological assets are a bit rough. They lack the sleek and suave character that is present in DragonTech products. All we would ask for is advice on that front."

Fishlegs hummed next to Astrid. "Hm…an interesting opportunity. We help your existing establishments, and you allow us full use of your resources for…what exactly? Not to sound cruel, Moana, but if we have not heard of Te Fiti before…chances are our resources are better than yours. How do you respond to that?"

Astrid turned a shocked eye on Fishlegs. She had imagined that the man had far more tact than that! How was insulting a prospective business partner any sort of progressive!? She turned back to the younger woman, expecting the worst, but finding her actually sitting back confidently.

"DragonTech may have the technological resources to lead the globe, but correct me if I'm wrong, you do not really do business with the world of hospitality or tourism?" To that, Hiccup shook his head, looking in amusement past Astrid at Fishlegs.

"She's got you there, Frank," He laughed.

"That she does," Fishlegs agreed.

"That being said," Moana continued. "We would also provide for living arrangements for anyone who came to New Zealand on behalf of DragonTech."

Hiccup shook his head, laying his hands in his lap. "Not necessary, Moana. DragonTech has more than enough capital to install what arrangements we require. I think that we have a preliminary agreement, Moana. Veronica?"

All eyes turned to the elegantly dressed woman. "Moana, if you would call me tomorrow, we'll get you set up in Charlotte so we can talk in greater detail about this project." From seemingly nowhere, Valka produced a card a handed it over.

Astrid watched and listened as the group spoke lightly about other arrangements for the deal, but her mind rang with opportunity. She had already been thinking about attaining a separate certification or achievement, not directly related to DragonTech…and now she had her chance. At least, she had a chance to do it without threatening her relationship to Hiccup.

If she could get into the physical therapy internship at the University of Otago, then she would be set. Now…maybe she could do it without breaking her ties with DragonTech…and with Hiccup. She was ready to do it, but it would have been a terrible thing to do to him. She needed to find a way to get sent to New Zealand…

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed! See you soon!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello my readers! This is chapter 23 of Only at DragonTech, and I'm excited to say that there is only a single chapter left!**

* * *

The gala was in full swing at this point, and the liquor flowed freely. Hiccup and Astrid had exited the VIP room, Valka, Fishlegs and Moana in tow, and joined the party. Astrid could say that she was deliciously sauced at this point, her description of her condition a direct gift to her from Tuffnut, who was quite "sauced" himself. Maybe it was her alcohol riddled mind, but Hiccup himself seemed to be a bit on the drunk side as they danced.

It was a bit strange, trying to slow dance while drunk. She felt like she wanted to be loud and wild, but the whole atmosphere of the gala said that she should be quiet and orderly. Her previous concerns about the people attending this thing had fallen by the wayside with her fifth drink. And that was…a while ago…she thought.

Currently, she and Hiccup were stepping slowly to some classical piece, and Astrid's grip around his neck was just a bit tighter than it needed to be. If he knew, then he said nothing, his warm hands resting on her waist, probably a bit lower on her hips than he would if he wasn't a bit tipsy himself. "How much longer is this thing?" She whispered into his chest.

He wasn't that much taller than she was, not in the heels she was wearing, but he still spoke into the crown of her head. "At this point…doesn't much matter. Most people around here are too drunk to actually care."

Astrid hummed in acknowledgement, but in a flash her mind began to buzz dangerously. She brought her head back far enough to look up into his eyes, and she knew that he would notice the mischievous glint there. "Why don't we sneak out?"

She thought that maybe, just _maybe_ , the CEO in him would decline that offer. However, when a charming, carefree grin spread across his face, she knew she'd won. He pulled her back in close, tucking her head onto his shoulder. "Find Elsa…she will be the only one who isn't drunk enough to be oblivious to our leaving…Anna and Kristoff enjoy fun too much to be sober at this point."

Astrid kept her eyes peeled for the platinum blonde hair that would single out the serious minded guard like a candle in the night. As she and Hiccup slowly turned, she got a plentiful view of the guests and the room at large, and she thought she might have spotted Elsa a few times, but she couldn't be sure. Finally, Hiccup spoke again. "Found her…and perfect…she's chaperoning her wife right now and not paying attention."

"What do we do?" Astrid mumbled, giggling intermittently.

"Simply, we go to that bartender out front, and if anyone stops us, that will be our story. Door is twenty feet from there and we'll be home free."

Astrid smiled widely and, in a moment of drunken excitement, leaned up and kissed Hiccup tenderly on the neck, allowing her lips to linger a moment longer than needed. "Let's go…"

The two of them stepped, as naturally as they could, off the dance floor and began to pick through the crowds, giggling to themselves and politely excusing when they bumped into people. Hiccup looked back a few times to check that they weren't being followed, and to his glee Elsa was still cleanly oblivious to their escape.

They made it into the hall and didn't waste a moment on pretending to go to the busy bar run by the large man, instead running out into the oppressively humid night air. Astrid took a few minutes to carefully remove the tied heels from her feet. It took a frustrating amount of time to achieve this, but finally her shoes came off and she bent to pick them up so she could run properly. By the time she had reached the curb, a valet had brought a car up for them.

"How is there a car here? We took a limo."

Hiccup smirked as he helped her into the back seat. "We did, but I always have another car brought in case I want to escape. Like this." He laughed, shutting the door and rounding to the driver's side of the car. He got in, still laughing, and the pair of them sped away from the venue.

"Where are we going to go?" Astrid asked, flailing in the back seat trying to get control of herself so she could sit up.

Hiccup chuckled. "Back to the hotel. Really, I shouldn't be driving…"

Astrid laughed wildly. "Live a little babe!" She smacked his shoulder entirely unaware of her choice of words. Really, if she had happened to be sober, she would be furious. Likely, she would be furious tomorrow about this. Driving drunk was the exact reason that her father was dead and Luke was…well, not in a wheelchair anymore, but still.

At that point, the mad rush to the front of the building began to catch up with her, and Astrid was suddenly quite dizzy. She slumped back against the upholstery in the back of the car, letting the passing lights lull her into a strange state of limbo, where she was alone with her thoughts. Alone with everything that she wanted to be in life. A small part of her felt like she knew what she wanted. Another part of her welcomed the mystery. Another part of her just wished that she could stop being…responsible. Like, for once, she could just do whatever she wanted because she wanted.

"Hiccup…why me?" She slurred, rocking her head to look at the back of his.

"What?"

"Why me?" She asked again. "Out of all the hopeless, barely surviving people in this world, why did you pick me?"

In her mind, she knew that he would tell her the things he had already. That he felt for Luke and the situation. That he admired her dedication to her family. That they deserved a second chance. She wanted more though. She wanted him to tell her that he did it for her. That he did it so that she and he could get closer. She wanted him to want her. She spent all that time making sure that he _didn't_ just want her, but now…that is what she wanted. Maybe it was the alcohol thinking her thoughts for her.

The car came to a stop, and Astrid numbly realized that they had come into an underground parking lot. Hiccup was sitting in the driver's seat, the car off, and the two of them allowing a strained silence to stretch out between them. After another minute or two, Hiccup wordlessly got out of the car and opened the door so Astrid could do the same, which she did with some help.

"Well?" She asked, swaying lightly. He wrapped a hand around her waist to steady her, but the action simply brought them closer together. She placed a hand on his chest, looking up at him with a pleading look in her eye.

"Tell me why it was me, Harry."

He stared back at her, some strange look in his eye, but still not speaking. She had carried hope that calling him his real name would land some sort of impact as to how serious she was, but so far, no luck. He wordlessly guided them to the elevator, Astrid trying vainly to resist begin dragged along. Being drunk severely limited her attempts to stand her ground because she actually needed his support to stand at all. They got to the elevator, and he pressed the button for the penthouse floor.

Astrid was going to question him further, but as soon as the doors closed, whatever tension had been building the entire evening exploded. Her wish to question him further turned into her shoving him against the wall of the elevator and mashing their lips together in the world's clumsiest, sloppiest kiss. Her hands were locked onto his face, yanking his head down to her lips while his were clamped almost painfully onto her sides, like he wanted to be sure that she wouldn't escape.

The kiss was wet. It was sloppy. A high schooler would be ashamed of it, but Astrid was far too drunk to care about that. Her body burned with this sudden desire, and she didn't know if drunk Astrid was also horny Astrid, but right now she needed him.

The sounds of their sudden passion, moans, groans and wet smacks filled the quiet elevator as it rose ever so slowly to the penthouse floor. She clung to him, lips and hands never once leaving contact, even as the elevator chimed their arrival at the penthouse floor of the hotel. Once the doors opened, Hiccup tore from her embrace and pulled her from the elevator towards the single set of double doors that would lead to his room.

Astrid used the chance to clumsily begin to attack the tight clasps that held her dress together, feeling constricted in the garment. Hiccup flicked something, probably a card or something similar, in front of a large block by the door, and a light click could be heard as the door opened. He grabbed her again and pulled her inside, slamming the door shut and trapping her against it.

There, their lips met again in a furious tangle, this time far more aggressive and firm than in the elevator. Astrid heard the rip as Hiccup tore her gown down the front, ripping the fasteners below the fabric like they were paper. If she wasn't as drunk, Astrid would have marveled at the feat, but as it was, all she could mumble between their lips was. "I'm telling Punz you broke her gown…"

"I'll pay for it," He growled.

"I think you already did…" She giggled back, her hands beginning to search through the folds of his jacket and shirt to find warm skin. Unsure of why she had waited this long to do so, Astrid devoted herself to getting Hiccup as naked as the day he was born. Even her addled drunken mind could tell where they were going – and she was perfectly okay with that.

After the rip, she was in a strange stage of undress herself. Her lacy bra and left shoulder was exposed, the rip extending all the way to her hip, revealing a sexy expanse of hip and the waistband of her underwear.

Taking a break from each other's swollen lips, the pair dedicated themselves to getting each other's clothes off. Astrid grabbed at his jacket, shoving it off his shoulders and down his arms, her lips latching onto his neck. His hand, smooth on the back and rough on the pads, felt along her bare shoulders and down her sides to her hips, the warmth radiating through them fueling the sudden burn between her legs.

Moments later, they were a tangle of limbs in a dark room, a single mechanical foot lying next to the bed as a first sound of carnal pleasure rang out.

* * *

Astrid hummed painfully, her head pounding and her body pounding even more as she came to. Her hair was a mess, splayed out on the cream colored pillow, and she still had the remains of a stocking on her right leg. She groaned, sitting up in the bed, understanding fully that other than what remained of her stockings, she was naked. Next to her, still blissfully asleep was Hiccup. Astrid looked down at his calmly rising chest, a childish smile crossing her face at the memories of the previous night.

It was, in the simplest description, mind-blowing. Hiccup was easily the most considerate partner Astrid had ever had in bed, and not only that, but he liked to do things that other guys weren't exactly okay with. Sex was a team game, and people tend to value their own pleasure, but not him…in fact, she had to drunkenly force him to let her do some work in their…play.

A part of her wanted to be mad. Wanted to be irritated that their first sex had come when she was really drunk and he was kind of drunk, but most of her didn't care at all. Maybe it was the push they needed. That little bit of carelessness that would allow them to look past their own insecurities and take the plunge.

She wondered where that left them. Technically…she was certain that there were rules against bosses having sexual relationships with employees. What did that mean? She'd never even remotely considered it…mainly because Hiccup was…you know…the _boss_. Not a supervisor. Not a floor lead. _The boss_. Did the rules still apply to him?

They had to but…as far as she'd seen, normal didn't necessarily apply to all of DragonTech, especially where the CEO and his Board were concerned…shit, the guy has a damn artificial intelligence running the top ten floors of his building.

She lay back down, placing her head on the pillow and her hand on his chest, feeling the second-or maybe first- surprise of her night. The impressive physique that Hiccup hid beneath expensive clothing. After having seen him all the time, and being a clear techy, she assumed that he might be…a bit slim. Not so. He was actually quite solid and trim beneath his clothes, which was a surprise. A pleasant one no doubt, but still a surprise.

She absently rubbed along his pec, waking him up slowly and lightly, the young man rolling over and facing her. She met his eyes and the two of them simply stared at each other for a few long seconds.

"Hi…" She breathed.

"Hi…" He mumbled back. His hand came up and pushed away a strand of hair from her face. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled. "Shitty…but not bad." She let out a giggle at the last words, obviously hinting at the experience of the night before.

He laughed warmly, rising from the bed and swinging his foot off the side. She hadn't watched last night when he'd taken his foot off, and she wasn't going to watch him put it on now. In a way it was childish of her, but she felt that taking off and putting on a prosthetic foot was a wildly private thing.

Stupid because she had literally had his most sensitive appendage in her mouth the night previous, but…still. She laid there, staring at his back and remaining silent, fearful of what he would say to her. He rose from the bed, gloriously naked and sexy, and walked over to the table, where a bottle of scotch. He opened the fridge in the room and clinked two cubes of ice into a glass, pouring a generous amount of scotch into it and taking a rather large sip.

"More alcohol?" Astrid asked, sarcasm lacing her voice.

Hiccup laughed, turning around to face her. Her body warmed at the sight of him, especially his lower half where the biology in Hiccup's brain was reacting to the sight of a naked woman in his bed. She rose to a sitting position, letting the blanket fall and leaving her chest revealed. A small, proud part of her noted his eyes drift down and a wolfish smile begin to work it's way across his face.

He turned away suddenly, drinking the rest of the glass and letting the glass clack loudly on the table. Astrid rose from the bed, sauntering towards him and pressed her naked body against his back, her hands snaking around his hips and taking hold of him. She stroked him briefly before his hands took her hands and moved them away.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He took a few steps away, breathed deeply, and turned to face her again.

"You're fired."

* * *

 **Look forward to chapter 24!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Welcome to the final chapter of Only at DragonTech!**

 **It has been a wonderful ride with you all, and even through thick and thin and short hiatus' here and there, I thank each and every one of you who has been here since day one!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Blue and gold banners stretched all over the place as the beautiful campus of the University of Otago embraced the weekend long fair for new students. Many walked around the lovely shaded walkways, sitting on the stone benches and either discussing things with their friends of simply enjoyed the wonderful weather. It was definitely a bright day, and even as the newer students wandered around, things like apprehension were not to be found.

"So…explain to me again how you're going to get us a free vacation for break," Victoria asked, laying back on the grass and basking in the hot sun. Her friend Lance sat nearby, poring over vacation pamphlets, seemingly alright with the entire idea of a completely free vacation.

"I told you to relax. You'll find out."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I think you're full of it. We're gonna go sit on the beach in Coromandel again and you know it."

"What is with you? I just mentioned that _maybe_ I could get us a free trip to America."

"Alright, let's assume you aren't full of shit," Lance chimed in, glancing over. "Where exactly would we go?"

"You know what? Both of you can kiss my ass. I'll just go alone then."

Lance tsked from where he sat, putting the pamphlets down. "Relax, Astrid. We can be a bit curious. You're literally the most private person in the whole program. We really don't know anything about you other than that your from America."

Astrid mock glared at him, crossing her arms. "Bullshit! You know that I have a brother and a mother, you know I don't have a father because he died, you know I once worked for a big ass firm and then lost that job."

He and Victoria glanced at each other for a second and then shrugged. "Okay? So what?"

Astrid stared back. "Is that not enough?"

Victoria laughed, rising up onto her elbows. "Alright girl, listen. You're real sweet and all, but lets compare. You guys know so much about me that you even know my bra size. We don't even know if you have a boyfriend!"

"I don't. You know that!" Astrid retorted sharply. She enjoyed these arguments she had with her two best friends from the internship. She had just about passed the incredibly competitive internship for physical therapy from the University of Otago, and Lance and Victoria were the only other two who had gotten through. After losing her job at DragonTech, Astrid spent some time getting her affairs in order before coming out to New Zealand to enroll.

It had been the hardest three years of her life, but she'd made it through. She had specifically avoided getting into any real big attachments here, or at least not getting too personal. The result? Friends who knew really next to nothing about her.

"We know you haven't slept with anyone, man or woman, since you got here. Unless you get seriously busy for the whole five days of break we get once a year, which we have no idea because you never tell us about your trips home, then you're a sexual cobweb." Lance analyzed, knowing this for a fact because he had tried emphatically to woo her when they first arrived.

Astrid threw her hands up. "My sex life is my own business!"

"Not amongst friends it isn't," Victoria remarked. "Well…among _normal_ friends that is."

Astrid rolled her eyes and got up from the bench. "Whatever. Let's go. I'm starving." They walked together to the bus stop, waiting and chatting absently about things while waiting. The bus system here in New Zealand really was great, and the amount of places they went to beat out driving oneself by a bunch because gas cost a fortune here.

"Where are we going to ea-" Lance began before Victoria burst up in her seat.

"Holy shit! Guys, we're going to the port!"

Astrid groaned. "What for? Smallest speedo competition on the beach?" She asked sarcastically, knowing exactly why Victoria was so excited. She'd seen the news earlier that week about the arrival of the massive cruise ship put out by Te Fiti, called the TeKa. This line of ships was supposedly the most luxurious and technologically advanced luxury liners in the world. And that was because…

"That American company DragonTech will be there! Apparently they helped build the ships and all that! We have to go! Can you _imagine_ landing a job with them!?"

Astrid let a short smile cross her face. _Don't need to. I did. Once._ "Why are you so obsessed with them?" She asked.

Victoria swung her arms wildly, almost hitting Lance but barely missing. "How are you not? Some people say that working for them is the best thing you could do with your time professionally! I even heard that some big shot from the company came through Otago once! Rachel Thorston!"

"Did she really?" Astrid asked aloud, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah. Guess it was a good while ago though. I'm sure we would have heard if DragonTech was sending one of their own to Otago." Lance finished for the still swooning Victoria. Astrid smirked at the antics of the woman, loving how carefree and eccentric she was.

They rode the bus in silence after that, skipping the stop for the eatery that Astrid thought they were going to go to in order to go to the port. Already they could see the traffic beginning to pile up as the coastal city got ready for the arrival of a new global player. Te Fiti was supposedly going to shoot up the economic food chain with these new cruise ships. Even though they only have one on the water, if its maiden voyage to San Francisco goes well…who knows where they will land.

When the bus stopped, it was a miracle that the three of them even found a place to stand. The port area where the cruise ship was set to make berth was packed with people, standing almost literally shoulder to shoulder. Already the ship loomed in the harbor, people excited and screaming for it to hurry up. Astrid wondered momentarily how many of these people had tickets to get on that behemoth.

"Look! Astrid, look!" Victoria smacked her several times and pointed. On a raised stage nearby stood a familiar face. A man, too tanned for his own good, tall and broad shouldered, stood there, basking in the attention of all the people. "Who is that!?"

Lance cleared his throat, looking at another pamphlet he had inexplicably acquired. "That would be Scott Jorgo. A member of the DragonTech Board of Directors, and according to this, he could build a machine with a blindfold on."

Astrid stared up at him, wondering what sort of wild things he was up to now. He seemed to be simply enjoyed the attention of things, but she remembered how the Board traveled…so where were the others?

"Says that the entire board will be here," Lance remarked as her thoughts ventured that same direction. For the next half hour they waited and watched as the giant cruise liner pulled into berth, and finally, a horn went off to signal that it had made port for the first time. At the same time, people began to yell, shout and point upwards. Astrid and her friends did the same, and their eyes widened much like everyone else.

Three black specs rocketed down towards the port, clearly people, and showing no signs of stopping. Astrid held her breathe, watching the display with a mixture of concern and wild anger. The specs grew closer and larger, and just when it looked like they would run out of time, parachutes billowed out of them and the three divers floated gently down to touch down in front of the ship. Helmets came off, and twins waved at the crowd, along with a man with emerald green eyes and an unruly mop of brown hair.

Astrid growled and whipped around, grabbing Victoria and Lance. "I don't care what we have to do, but we're getting on that ship when everyone is touring it!" She snapped.

* * *

"Astrid, how the fuck did you get us on here!?" Lance asked in amazement as they strode through the halls of the wildly luxurious ship. The brochures and commercials did it no justice. The ship was beautiful and amazing, every single room and hallway a bright and comfortable mix of technology and artwork.

"Connections." She growled, storming through the halls with a determined look on her face.

They rounded the corner of the hallway they had been walking through and immediately found themselves staring at a state room. Essentially, a high end lounge for high end clientele on the ship, and Astrid knew exactly who was there. The symbol on the door had been a part of her life for years.

Lance and Victoria glanced at each other in concern. "Uh…Astrid, what are you doing!?" They demanded as she began to bang on the door wildly, slamming her closed fist against it as loudly as she could.

"You'll see," She growled. The door was pulled open as a curious faced Frank Inger appeared and, instantly, he stepped aside.

"Oh, Hiccup! You have a visitor!" He called. Sitting at the bar, four stools turned, and two people leapt over a bar and a single one immediately stood up and began to back away. Lance and Victoria watched with wide eyes from the door as Hiccup Haddock, the mighty owner of DragonTech Robotics backed away like a child.

"Hi! What can I uh…do for you?"

"You can explain to me why the _fuck_ I saw _three_ people skydiving to this bucket of bolts!?" Astrid snapped, fury in her eyes.

Hiccup pointed a finger. "It was their idea!"

"Shut your face!" Tuffnut yelled, his head popping up over the bar. "You agree- oh shit!" He retreated as Astrid's fiery glare found him. She turned back to the CEO, advancing on him like a tiger onto prey.

"I'm waiting…" Her voice was low and threatening.

"Rachel! Help please!" Hiccup begged to a deaf set of ears, taking more steps back, but he was steadily running out of space. Lance and Victoria looked to Fishlegs, who smiled at them good naturedly.

"No worries. This is normal."

Victoria looked horrified. "Normal? Astrid being on beast terms with the Board of Directors for DragonTech is not normal!"

Fishlegs turned a wondering look on them, an unspoken question on his lips. Astrid had had enough at this point though. She took a hard step forward and pointed a hard finger in Hiccup's face.

"I told you _no skydiving_! So, tell me again why you were _skydiving_!?" She yelled.

"Luke made me do it!" Hiccup protested. "Told me that if I didn't do it then I was whipped!"

Astrid cocked a head to the side. "Oh really?"

"Yes!"

"And you listened to him? What have we talked about? Never listen to Luke!" She snapped.

Hiccup shrugged. "Now that isn't fair! I was also given explicit instructions to take the best care of him!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Taking care of him doesn't mean listen to stupid suggestions!"

Hiccup looked to say something else to her, but decided against it and dropped his stance entirely. "I am sorry."

Astrid relaxed. "That's better." She let out a breath to cool herself off before turning back into her two friends who, once she turned around and actually looked at them, looked exactly as confused as she assumed they would be.

"Lance, Victoria, come in please. Meet my friends Scott, Frank, Trevor, Ra- hey, get out from behind the bar! I'm not going to kill you yet!" Two heads popped up suspiciously from the bar and waved. "Those two are Trevor and Rachel, and this is Harry Haddock."

Introductions were thrown about quickly, and everyone was now standing in a circle, staring at one another. Lance and Victoria were still stunned, despite having met the board. "So…Astrid…you know these people how, exactly?" Victoria wondered.

Astrid shrugged. "DragonTech hired me on a few years ago and I got close to the board. One thing led to another and I lost the job."

Lance scrunched his face up in confusion. "Wait, wait, wait…when you lose a job, usually you don't remain friends with the Board of Directors of that job. Care to explain that?"

Astrid nodded. "Certainly. But don't be mad."

"Why?" Both her friends asked simultaneously.

"Because my last name isn't Hofferson."

Victoria threw her hands up and laughed wildly. "Oh haha, Astrid. Let me guess, you're gonna say something fucking ridiculous like your last name is Haddock or something stupid like that!" A

Astrid nodded, stepped into Hiccup's side and hugging him, feeling a strong around wrap around her shoulders. She leaned up and kissed him tenderly before looking back at them. "It is, actually. I've been married to Hiccup for just over three years now."

For several moments, silence extended into the room, Lance and Victoria looked around at the other members of the board for smirks or laughing. Seeing none, they looked back at Astrid, Hiccup and then back around again.

"You don't wear a ring." Victoria stated. In response, Astrid removed from her pocket her engagement and wedding rings and slid them onto her finger.

"I normally don't. Don't want them to get damaged or anything."

Silence resumed in the room. Lance finally gained the ability to speak.

"So…you stormed in here all mad because of the skydiving…"

"Because we love skydiving, and after those two monkeys got married, Hiccup had an accident and Astrid banned him from skydiving ever again, because she is his wife and she can do stuff like bully an international CEO who also just happens to be whipped as shit." Ruffnut finished for him, earning a glare from Astrid for her explanation. She only stuck her tongue out at her old protégé. For another few moments, silence retook them before Lance broke it.

"You people are fucking insane…" Lance muttered, covering his eyes.

Astrid giggled as she met Ruffnut's eyes, then looked back up at her husband. She kissed him again and rested her head against his chest, whispering into the fabric of the clothing of the man she loved.

"Only at DragonTech."

* * *

 **As I said in a previous chapter, I am willing to do a sequel to this, but I need to wait for HTTYD 3 to come out, and seeing as that is only supposedly happening in 2018, it'll be a long while yet! I hope to see all of you then!**


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